Florence King  1936-
Major Works
- Southern Ladies and Gentlemen (1975)
- WASP, Where Is Thy Sting? (1976)
- The Barbarian Princess (1977) (under pseudonym
Laura Buchanan)
- He, An Irreverent Look at the American Male
(1978)
- When Sisterhood Was in Flower (1982)
- Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady (1985)
- Reflections In a Jaundiced Eye (1989)
- Lump It Or Leave It (1991)
- With Charity Toward None: A Fond Look at Misanthropy
(1992)
- Satan's Child: A Survivor Tells Her Story to Help
Others (1994) (under pseudonym Laura Buchanan)
- The Florence King Reader (1995)
- STET, Damnit! (National Review
column anthology) (2002)
- Deja Reviews: Florence King All Over Again
(selected book reviews and essays) (2006)
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Biography of
Florence King
By Brittany Forks (SHS)
Florence King, a little known author and misanthrope was born
on January 5, 1936, in Washington D.C., to Herbert Frederick
and Louise Ruding King. King was raised in Tidewater, Virginia,
by her grandmother. She is an active Episcopalian, member
of Phi Alpha Theta, and her political preference is Royalist.
Her interests include Gay Nineties and turn-of-the-century popular
songs (Wiloch). Florence King describes herself as being a "conservative
lesbian feminist" (Wittman).
Photo right: Brittany Forks
College was a time of new experiences for King. She slept with
both sexes, including her male professor. She joined a sorority
only to be thrown out because she professed she was a lesbian
(Wittman). She graduated from American University in 1957 with
a Bachelor of Art degree (Wilcoch). After college she trained
at the Woman Officer Candidate School in Quantico to become
a marine but never completed the training (Wittman). She then
began graduate studies at the University of Mississippi, in
Oxford, Mississippi (Wilcoch). There she fell in love
with a young woman who was killed in a car accident. After this
tragic event, King began to put more interest in writing (Wittman).
 King
had several occupations before she began writing as a career.
In the mid- 1950's, she was a history teacher in Suitland,
Maryland. Later in the decade, she was a file clerk at the National
Association of Realtors. From 1964 to 1967, King was a feature
writer for the Raleigh News and Observer. While
at the Raleigh News and Observer, King received
the North Carolina Press Woman Award for reporting.
Another job was the assistant editor of Uncensored Confessions
from 1967 to 1968.
During Florence King's career, she has written under several
pseudonyms including Cynthia, Veronica King, Emmett X. Reed,
Niko Stavros, and Mike Winston. King's book The Barbarian
Princess was published under the pseudonym Laura Buchanan.
Before King's books were published, she wrote mainly in magazines,
many times under a pseudonym. Florence King has written for
Redbook, Cosmopolitan, Harper's and National
Review, and she currently writes for National
Review (Wiloch).
Florence King's first book, Southern Ladies and Gentlemen,
was published in 1975. King wrote several others until she wrote
her most popular memoir to date, Confessions of a Failed
Southern Lady. Confessions of a Failed Southern
Lady is King's autobiography. The book ends with King
in her twenties (Webb). Her next two works, Reflections
in a Jaundiced Eye and Lump It or Leave It,
are collections of essays (Wittman). Her most current
book is The Florence King Reader.
For the last several years Florence King in retirement has
kept to herself in her home in Fredericksburg, Virginia (Wilcoch).
2008 UPDATE: In 2006, Florence King left retirement
and resumed writing for National Review
with a monthly column featuring her characteristic wry humor
and insightful observations. Originally her column was called
"The Misanthrope's Corner," but in 2007 the column became
"The Bent Pin."
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A Review of The
Florence King Reader
by Brittany Forks (SHS)
The Florence King Reader is a book that highlights
all of King's work in the past twenty-five years. It has excerpts
from King's books: Southern Ladies and Gentlemen
, WASP, Where Is Thy Sting?, He: An
Irreverent Look at the American Male, The Barbarian
Princess, When Sisterhood Was in Flower,
Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady, Reflections
in a Jaundiced Eye, Lump It or Leave It,
and With Charity Toward None: A Fond Look at Misanthropy.
It also includes book reviews, articles from her column "The
Misanthrope's Corner" in the National Review,
articles from the Raleigh News & Observer,
and uncollected articles. King also makes notes throughout the
book giving readers her opinions on her work.
King makes several references to her other books without
being obvious. All of her books revolve around a world
that she has created and filled with southern belles named Kissypoo
Carmichael and High Wasp wives such as Mrs. Jonesborough.
My favorite excerpt is from Southern Ladies and Gentlemen,
where she recreates the ways of the South. Well...what in her
mind are the ways of the South. With tales of the "town fairy"
and the two distinct types of families (High WASP and Low WASP),
I found The Barbarian Princess to be out of place
in the book and set apart from the rest of the content of the
book.
The book is hilarious and filled with King's best work.
It gives a new spin on Southern ideals. The articles most often
have a most interesting opinion and kept my attention easily.
I urge you to read this book.
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Related
Websites
Read
Miss King's column "Misanthrope's Corner" from the
National Review.
Archives
of King's writings in National Review.
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Bibliography
King, Florence. The Florence King Reader . New
York: St. Martins Press, 1995
Wiloch, Thomas. "Florence King." Gale Literary Databases. Starkville
High School Lib. Starkville, MS. 6 March 2002.
<
http://galenet.galegroup.com >
Wittman, Kelly. "Florence King hates everyone, while readers
love her." 2001. 25 March 2002.
<
http://nhnh.essortment.com/florenceking_rzkm.html >
Webb, John. "Florence King" Ed. John Webb. 2000. 4 March 2002.
<
http://w3.one.net/~muir/fk/ >
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