Dorothy Parker holds a place in history as one of New York's most beloved writers. Now, for the first time in nearly a century, the public is invited to enjoy Mrs. Parker's sharp wit and biting commentary on the Jazz Age hits and flops in this first-ever published collection of her groundbreaking Broadway reviews.Starting when she was twenty-four at Vanity Fair as New York's only female theatre critic, Mrs. Parker reviewed some of the biggest names of the era: the Barrymores, George M. Cohan, W.C. Fields, Helen Hayes, Al Jolson, Eugene O'Neil, Will Rogers, and the Ziegfeld Follies. Her words of praise--and contempt--for the dramas, comedies, musicals, and revues are just as fresh and funny today as they were in the age of speakeasies and bathtub gin. Annotated with a notes section by Kevin C. Fitzpatrick, president of the Dorothy Parker Society, the volume shares Parker's outspoken opinions of a great era of live theatre in America, from a time before radio, talking pictures, and television decimated attendance. Dorothy Parker: Complete Broadway, 1918-1923 provides a fascinating glimpse of Broadway in its Golden Era and literary life in New York through the eyes of a renowned theatre critic.

The Legendary Writers of the "Vicious Circle"
Collected Together For the First Time

"The Algonquin was a refuge for the brightest authors, editors, critics, columnists, artists, financiers, composers, directors, producers and actors of the times. The dining-room corner was a hot bed of raconteurs and conversationalists."
-Harpo Marx

In Jazz Age New York City, no literary lights burned more brightly than those of the legendary Algonquin Round Table. Now between covers for the first time is a collection of writing by 16 members of the group, an all-star gathering that took 90 years to come together. Many of these pieces have never been published before; plucked from private family collections and "lost" pieces from obscure periodicals.

● Humor pieces by Robert Benchley, Franklin P. Adams, Heywood Broun, Frank Sullivan and Donald Ogden Stewart.
● Criticism from Dorothy Parker, George S. Kaufman and Robert E. Sherwood.
● Short fiction by Laurence Stallings and Pulitzer Prize-winners Edna Ferber and Margaret Leech.
● Journalism from Alexander Woollcott, Ruth Hale and Deems Taylor.
● Poetry by Adams, Marc Connelly, Dorothy Parker and John V. A. Weaver.

With a foreword by Nat Benchley.

"That is the thing about New York," wrote Dorothy Parker in 1928. "It is always a little more than you had hoped for. Each day, there, is so definitely a new day." Now you can journey back there, in time, to a grand city teeming with hidden bars, luxurious movie palaces, and dazzling skyscrapers. In these places, Dorothy Parker and her cohorts in the Vicious Circle at the infamous Algonquin Round Table sharpened their wit, polished their writing, and captured the energy and elegance of the time. Robert Benchley, Parker's best friend, became the first managing editor of Vanity Fair before Irving Berlin spotted him onstage in a Vicious Circle revue and helped launch his acting career. Edna Ferber, an occasional member of the group, wrote the Pulitzer-winning bestseller So Big as well as Show Boat and Cimarron. Jane Grant pressed her first husband, Harold Ross, into starting The New Yorker. Neysa McMein, reputedly "rode elephants in circus parades and dashed from her studio to follow passing fire engines." Dorothy Parker wrote for Vanity Fair and Vogue before ascending the throne as queen of the Round Table, earning everlasting fame (but rather less fortune) for her award-winning short stories and unforgettable poems. Alexander Woollcott, the centerpiece of the group, worked as drama critic for the Times and the World, wrote profiles of his friends for The New Yorker, and lives on today as Sheridan Whiteside in The Man Who Came to Dinner. Explore their favorite salons and saloons, their homes and offices (most still standing), while learning about their colorful careers and private lives. Packed with archival photos, drawings, and other images--including never-before-published material--this illustrated historical guide includes current information on all locations. Use it to retrace the footsteps of the Algonquin Round Table, and you'll discover that the golden age of Gotham still surrounds us.

The Legendary Writers of the "Vicious Circle"
Collected Together For the First Time

"The Algonquin was a refuge for the brightest authors, editors, critics, columnists, artists, financiers, composers, directors, producers and actors of the times. The dining-room corner was a hot bed of raconteurs and conversationalists."
-Harpo Marx

In Jazz Age New York City, no literary lights burned more brightly than those of the legendary Algonquin Round Table. Now between covers for the first time is a collection of writing by 16 members of the group, an all-star gathering that took 90 years to come together. Many of these pieces have never been published before; plucked from private family collections and "lost" pieces from obscure periodicals.

● Humor pieces by Robert Benchley, Franklin P. Adams, Heywood Broun, Frank Sullivan and Donald Ogden Stewart.
● Criticism from Dorothy Parker, George S. Kaufman and Robert E. Sherwood.
● Short fiction by Laurence Stallings and Pulitzer Prize-winners Edna Ferber and Margaret Leech.
● Journalism from Alexander Woollcott, Ruth Hale and Deems Taylor.
● Poetry by Adams, Marc Connelly, Dorothy Parker and John V. A. Weaver.

With a foreword by Nat Benchley.