The habit of being - Letters of Flannery O'Connor

Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Special Award"I have come to think that the true likeness of Flannery O'Connor will be painted by herself, a self-portrait in words, to be found in her letters . . . There she stands, a phoenix risen from her own words: calm, slow, funny, courteous, both modest and very sure of herself, intense, sharply penetrating, devout but never pietistic, downright, occasionally fierce, and honest in a way that restores honour to the word." — Sally Fitzgerald, from the Introduction. Most of the readers of these letters are probably familiar with the simpler facts of Flannery O'Connor's life: that she was born in Savannah, Georgia on March 25, 1925, the only child of Edward Francis O'Connor and Regina Cline O'Connor; that she moved to Milledgeville, Georgia, her mother's birthplace, when she was twelve years old, after her father had fallen gravely ill. This book is a collection of letter sent by the American novellist and writer Flannery O'Connor to various persons incl. notable figures of the literary world at the time. The book is particularly significant, as the author was confined to her family home by sickness, and her letters were her main means to stay in touch with the world. Introduction by Sally Fitzgerald Part I: Up North and Getting Home 1948-1952 Part II: Day In and Day Out 1953-1958 Part III: "The Violent Bear It Away" 1959-1963 Part IV: The Last Year 1964 Index Selected letters from Flannery O'Connor from her early 20s until at her death at age 39.