Monday, May 12, 2008

Auntie Mame


Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade by Patrick Dennis was originally published in 1955. My paperback copy was a 2001 re-release including an introduction by Paul Rudnick and Afterword by Michael Tanner and has 299 pages. This is the book the 1958 movie Auntie Mame starring Rosalind Russell was based on, as well as the play. It's a given that if you liked the movie, you'll enjoy the book. This is an easy, light read - perfect for a summer book.


Quotes:

"He said that my Auntie Mame was a very peculiar woman and that to be left in her hands was a fate that he wouldn't wish on a dog, but that beggars can't be choosers and Auntie Mame was my only living relative." pg. 3

"Morning, I soon discovered, was one o'clock for Auntie Mame. Early Morning was eleven, and the Middle of the Night was nine." pg. 18

"Come back here, you damned little hellion, I'm going to get you into St. Boniface and turn you into a decent, God-fearing Christian if I have to break every bone in your body" pg. 37

"He sprang from a fine, impoverished old Georgia family, but he was unique among general's descendants in that he didn't mope around Dixie talking about the carefree days before those damnyankees ravished its land and its women." pg. 64

"Why, Patrick, did you think for an instant that I, who've hammed my way through three Papal Audiences and a Court of St. James's presentation, wouldn't be able to conduct myself?" pg. 190

"And just to prove that Auntie Mame hadn't grown too realistic, one package [sent to Patrick during W.W.II] containing specially bottled strawberries bore these instructions" 'Marinate in champagne and thinly sliced limes in refrigerator. Delicious with pheasant.' " pg. 221

And finally, from the Afterword by Michael Tanner:

"I recently saw an outdoor screening of the Rosalind Russell film on a beautiful summer evening in Bryant Park. On the blanket next to me, a dozen really far-gone Mame lovers had brought props and worked out responses to the action on screen: cigarette holders, bottles of Dr. Pepper....etc. I was too shy to speak but...could one of you please contact me at Bellevue Hospital? I missed the whole Rocky Horror Picture Show thing and would like to get in on this." pg. 299

Personal note: I would like to get in on this too.

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