{{short description|Novelist, playwright, essayist}} {{EngvarB|date=August 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}} {{Infobox writer | image = J. P. Donleavy appearing on "After Dark", 16 March 1991.jpg | image size = 220px | caption = Donleavy appearing on ''[[After Dark (TV series)|After Dark]]'' in 1991 | birth_name = James Patrick Donleavy | pseudonym = J. P. Donleavy | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1926|4|23}} | birth_place = [[Brooklyn]], [[New York (state)|New York]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2017|9|11|1926|4|23}} | death_place = [[Mullingar]], [[County Westmeath]], Ireland | resting_place = Levington Park estate, County Westmeath | movement = [[Black comedy]] | nationality = Irish | occupation = {{flatlist| * Author * novelist * short story writer * playwright }} | genre = [[Prose fiction]], [[satire]], dark humor | language = English | spouse = {{ublist|{{marriage|Valerie Heron |1946 |1969}}|{{marriage|Mary Wilson Price |1970 |1989}}}} | children = 2 children, 2 stepchildren | education = {{Unbulleted list|[[Trinity College Dublin]] (1946–1949; no degree)}} | notableworks = {{Plain list| * ''[[The Ginger Man]]'' (1955) * ''[[A Fairy Tale of New York]]'' (1973) * ''[[The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B]]'' (1968) }} | period = Modern | years_active = 1955–2017 | awards = [[Bord Gáis]] [[Lifetime Achievement Award]] }}
'''James Patrick Donleavy''', popularly known as '''J. P. Donleavy''', (23 April 1926 – 11 September 2017) was an [[American-Irish]] author, [[short story]] writer, novelist, and playwright.<ref name="Irish Times 14 September 2017">{{cite news | author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= JP Donleavy obituary: acclaimed author of 'a bawled-out comic song of sex'|url= https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/jp-donleavy-obituary-acclaimed-author-of-a-bawled-out-comic-song-of-sex-1.3220783| date= 14 September 2017|newspaper= [[The Irish Times]] |location=Dublin| access-date=16 September 2017 }}</ref> Known for the [[dark humor]] in his writings, he first achieved critical acclaim with his [[picaresque]] novel ''[[The Ginger Man]]'' (1955), initially published in [[Paris]]. The novel became an international bestseller, selling 50 million copies worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/14/books/a-toast-for-j-p-donleavy.html|title=An Appraisal: A Toast for J. P. Donleavy|first1=Dwight|last1=Garner|work=The New York Times|date=September 2017|location=New York, USA}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://firsteditions.ie/books/the-ginger-man-60th-anniversary-limited-edition|title=The Ginger Man: 60th Anniversary Limited Edition|year=2015|publisher=The Lilliput Press|location=Ireland|isbn=9781843516460}}</ref> It is one of the [[List of best-selling books|best-selling books of all time]] and has been translated into over 30 languages.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/a-singular-man-j-p-donleavy-on-his-fascinating-life-since-the-ginger-man-2043380.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/a-singular-man-j-p-donleavy-on-his-fascinating-life-since-the-ginger-man-2043380.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-status=live |title=A singular Life: J. P. Donleavy on his fascinating life since The Ginger Man |first=John |last=McEntee |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=4 August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/jp-donleavy-s-the-ginger-man-at-60-1.2287489|title=JP Donleavy's The Ginger Man at 60|year=2015|first1=Colin|last1=Overall|publisher=The Irish Times|location=Dublin}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/ginger-man-analysis-major-characters|title=The Ginger Man: Analysis of Major Characters|first1=David W. |last1=Madden|publisher=EBSCO|year=2011|location=Massachusetts, USA}}</ref> The novel is Donleavy's best-known work, and in 1998, it was ranked 99th by the [[Modern Library]] in its list of the "[[Modern Library's 100 Best Novels|100 Best Novels of the 20th century]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-novels/ |title=100 Best Novels |work=Modern Library|publisher=Penguin Random House Publications|year=1998|location=USA}}</ref>
Donleavy is also the author of ''[[A Fairy Tale of New York]]'', published in 1973, and ''[[The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B]]'', published in 1968. He received the Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award, funded by [[Bord Gáis Energy]], for his contributions to [[Irish literature]] in 2015.
==Early life== Donleavy was born in [[Brooklyn]], to Irish immigrants Margaret and Patrick Donleavy, and grew up in [[the Bronx]]. His father was a [[firefighter]], and his mother came from a wealthy background.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/jp-donleavy-irish-american-ireland-irish | title=J.P. Donleavy: Irish-American, American in Ireland, or Irish? | date=17 June 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.irishpost.com/life-style/author-of-the-ginger-man-jp-donleavy-an-obituary-134053 | title=Author of the Ginger Man JP Donleavy - an obituary }}</ref> He had a sister, Mary Rita, and a younger brother.<ref name="Guardian 14 September 2017"/><ref name="BBC 14 September 2017">{{cite web |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41265684|title= JP Donleavey, author of The Ginger Man, dies |author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= 14 September 2017|website= [[BBC News Online]] |publisher= BBC | access-date= 14 September 2017 }}</ref> He received his education at schools in the United States, then served in the [[United States Navy|US Navy]] during [[World War II]].<ref name="Irish Times 14 September 2017"/> After the war ended, he moved to Ireland. In 1946 he began studying [[bacteriology]] at [[Trinity College Dublin]], but left in 1949 before taking a degree.
==Career== Donleavy's first published work was a short story entitled ''A Party on Saturday Afternoon'', which appeared in the Dublin literary periodical ''[[Envoy, A Review of Literature and Art|Envoy]]'' in 1950.<ref name="Guardian 14 September 2017">{{cite news |last= Campbell |first= James |title= JP Donleavy obituary |url= https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/sep/14/jp-donleavy-obituary| date= 14 September 2017|newspaper= [[The Guardian]] |location=London| access-date=15 September 2017 }}</ref> He gained critical acclaim with his first novel, ''[[The Ginger Man]]'' (1955), which is one of the [[Modern Library]] 100 best novels.<ref>{{cite news|first=Mel|last=Gussow|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/28/books/the-classic-with-a-pornographic-pedigree.html?pagewanted=all|title=The Classic With a Pornographic Pedigree|newspaper=The New York Times|date=28 June 2000}}</ref> The novel, of which Donleavy's friend and fellow writer [[Brendan Behan]] was the first person to read the completed manuscript,<ref name="BBC 14 September 2017"/><ref name="Guardian 26 June 2004"/> was banned in Ireland and the United States by reason of obscenity.
The Ginger Man was known for its outspoken and comic lewdness.<ref>{{cite book |last=De Breffny |first=Brian |author-link= |date=1983 |title=Ireland: A Cultural Encyclopedia |url= |location=London |publisher=Thames and Hudson |page=76 |isbn=}}</ref> Lead character Sebastian Dangerfield was in part based on Trinity College companion Gainor Crist, an American Navy veteran also studying at Trinity College on the [[G.I. Bill]], whom Donleavy once described in an interview as a "saint", though of a [[François Rabelais|Rabelaisian]] kind.<ref>Kurt Jacobsen, 'An Interview with J. P. Donleavy' ''Journal of Irish Literature'' January 1978</ref>
Correctly or incorrectly, his initial works are sometimes grouped with the [[Kitchen sink realism|kitchen sink]] artists as well as the "[[Angry Young Men]]".<ref name="Guardian 26 June 2004">{{cite news |last= Campbell |first= James |title= The spice of life |url= https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/jun/26/featuresreviews.guardianreview13| date= 26 June 2004 | newspaper= [[The Guardian]] |location=London| access-date=14 September 2017 }}</ref> Another novel, ''[[A Fairy Tale of New York]]'', provided the title of the song "[[Fairytale of New York]]".
In March 2007, Donleavy was the castaway on [[BBC Radio 4]]'s ''[[Desert Island Discs]]''.<ref name="Desert Island Discs">{{cite episode| title= Desert Island Discs: JP Donleavy| series= [[Desert Island Discs]]| credits= Presenter: [[Kirsty Young]]| network=BBC| station= [[BBC Radio 4]]| url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00774yf| airdate= 4 March 2007| access-date= 14 September 2017 }}</ref>
In 2015, Donleavy was the recipient of the Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award at the Bord Gáis Energy [[Irish Book Awards]].<ref name="Irish Book Awards">{{cite web |url= http://www.irishbookawards.irish/2015/11/25/bord-gais-energy-irish-book-awards-2015-winning-authors-revealed/ |title= Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards 2015 winning authors revealed |author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= 25 November 2015 |website= [[Irish Book Awards]] |access-date= 14 September 2017 |archive-date= 1 January 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170101232339/http://www.irishbookawards.irish/2015/11/25/bord-gais-energy-irish-book-awards-2015-winning-authors-revealed/ |url-status= dead }}</ref>
In 2016, [[Trinity College Dublin]] awarded him with an honorary doctorate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tcd.ie/registrar/honorary-degrees/2015-16/|title=Registrar : Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Ireland|website=www.tcd.ie|access-date=2020-01-07}}</ref>
==Personal life== Donleavy declared himself to be an atheist at the age of 14.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Welch |first1=Frances |title=Me and My God J. P. Donleavy Talks to Frances Welch |url=http://www.jpdonleavy-compendium.org/Frances-Welch-Interview.html |website=jpdonleavy-compendium.org |publisher=Opinions Electronic Telegraph |date=April 11, 1998|quote= He became an atheist aged 13 or 14.}}</ref> In 1946, he married Valerie Heron. The couple had two children: Philip (born 1951) and Karen (born 1955). They divorced in 1969. He remarried in 1970 to Mary Wilson Price; that union ended in divorce in 1989.<ref name="Guardian 26 June 2004"/>
In 2011, it was reported that Donleavy had not fathered his two children with Price. A DNA test in the early 1990s had confirmed that Rebecca was the daughter of brewing scion Kieran Guinness, and Rory was the son of Kieran's older brother Finn, whom Price married after her divorce from Donleavy. "My interest is only to look after the welfare of the child," Donleavy told ''The Times'', "and after a certain stage, you can't worry about their parentage".<ref name="Independent 15 September 2017">{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Harrison |title=JP Donleavy, author whose debut novel The Ginger Man shocked society |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/jp-donleavy-author-the-ginger-man-a7948171.html |access-date=1 January 2019 |work=The Independent |date=15 September 2017 |language=en}}</ref>
Donleavy lived in London in the 1950s and then [[Maughold (village)|Maughold]], Isle of Man in the 1960s, where the two children were educated.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/maughold-memories-of-jp-donleavy/?fb_comment_id=1510567339012680_1510635165672564|title=Maughold memories of JP Donleavy|work=Manx Radio|date=16 September 2017|accessdate=2 January 2025}}</ref> From 1972, Donleavy lived at Levington Park, a country house on {{convert|200|acre|km2}} directly on [[Lough Owel]], near [[Mullingar]], [[County Westmeath]].<ref name="Guardian 26 June 2004"/> Throughout much of his life, he was known as Mike by close friends, though the origins of this nickname are unclear.<ref name="Indy-Mike-1">{{cite web |title=A singular man: J P Donleavy on his fascinating life since The Ginger |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/a-singular-man-j-p-donleavy-on-his-fascinating-life-since-the-ginger-man-2043380.html |website=The Independent |language=en |date=5 August 2010}}</ref>
Donleavy died on 11 September 2017, aged 91.<ref name="New York Times 13 September 2017">{{cite news |last= Gates |first= Anita |title= J.P. Donleavy, Acclaimed Author of 'The Ginger Man,' Dies at 91 |url= https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/09/13/books/jp-donleavy-acclaimed-author-of-the-ginger-man-dies-at-91.html | date= 13 September 2017| newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |location=New York| access-date=14 September 2017 }}</ref>
==List of works== ===Novels===
* ''[[The Ginger Man]]'' (Olympia, 1955) * ''[[A Singular Man]]'' (Little, Brown, 1963) * ''[[The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B]]'' (Delacorte, 1968) * ''The Onion Eaters'' (Delacorte, 1971) * ''[[A Fairy Tale of New York]]'' (Delacorte, 1973) * ''The Destinies of Darcy Dancer, Gentleman'' (Delacorte, 1977) * ''Schultz'' (Delacorte, 1979) * ''Leila: Further in the Destinies of Darcy Dancer, Gentleman'' (Delacorte, 1983) * ''Are You Listening Rabbi Löw'' (Viking, 1987) * ''That Darcy, That Dancer, That Gentleman'' (Penguin, 1990) * ''Wrong Information is Being Given Out at Princeton'' (Little, Brown, 1998) * ''A Letter Marked Personal'' (Lilliput, 2019)
===Plays===
* ''The Ginger Man'' (1959) * ''Fairy Tales of New York'' (1960) * ''A Singular Man'' (1964) * ''The Saddest Summer of Samuel S'' (1972) * ''The Plays of J. P. Donleavy'' (Delacorte, 1972) * ''The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B'' (1981)
===Short fiction===
* ''Meet My Maker the Mad Molecule'' (Little, Brown, 1964) * ''The Saddest Summer of Samuel S'' (Delacorte, 1966) * ''The Lady Who Liked Clean Rest Rooms'' (Thornwillow, 1995)
===Other books===
* ''[[The Unexpurgated Code|The Unexpurgated Code: A Complete Manual of Survival & Manners]]'' (Delacorte, 1975) * ''De Alfonce Tennis: The Superlative Game of Eccentric Champions'' (Dutton, 1984) * ''J. P. Donleavy's Ireland: In All Her Sins and Some of Her Graces'' (Viking, 1986) * ''A Singular Country'' (Norton, 1989) * ''The History of the Ginger Man'' (Viking, 1994) * ''An Author and His Image: The Collected Short Pieces'' (Viking, 1997)
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{wikiquote}} *[http://rinasherman.com/film/VOICES/JPDonleavy/JPDonleavy.html J. P. Donleavy, I Write About People I Like / Rina Sherman, Cineportrait, HDV, 78 min, k éditeur, Paris, 2012]{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} *[http://www.jpdonleavy-compendium.org JPDonleavy-Compendium.org] * {{cite journal|url=http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/3809/the-art-of-fiction-no-53-j-p-donleavy|title=J.P. Donleavy, The Art of Fiction No. 53|journal=Paris Review|date=Fall 1975|author=Molly McKaughan & Fayette Hickox|volume=Fall 1975 |issue=63 }} *{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ni8Nbk1j--cC&q=J.+P.+Donleavy&pg=PA23|title=J. P. Donleavy: The Formative Years|editor=N. P. James|publisher=Cv Publications|year=2008|isbn=978-1-905571-96-3}} *[https://totallygonzo.org/2008/06/17/the-ginger-man-in-dublin "''The Ginger Man'' in Dublin", ''Totally Gonzo'', 17 June 2008] *[http://home.earthlink.net/~dlhartz/donleavy/wood-jpd.html "Tea & Scones & Darcy Dancer: The Making of An Irish Gentleman – An Interview with J.P. Donleavy", ''Bloomsbury Review'', E. Thomas Wood, January/February 1992] *[http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC?vrsn=149&OP=starts&locID=chan86036&srchtp=name&ca=2&c=1&AI=U13671893&NA=donleavy&ste=12&tbst=prp&tab=1&docNum=H1000026247&bConts=59 "J.P. Donleavy", ''Contemporary Authors Online'', Gale, 2010.] *[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/a-singular-man-j-p-donleavy-on-his-fascinating-life-since-the-ginger-man-2043380.html "A singular man: J P Donleavy on his fascinating life since The Ginger Man"] John McEntee, ''[[The Independent]]'', 5 August 2010 *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW3ebxhABFQ J.P. Donleavy interviewed by Stephen Banker, circa 1978] * {{Cite journal | last = Fruchter | first = Norman | author-link = Norman Fruchter | title = Where is the ginger man? | journal = [[New Left Review]] | volume = I | issue = 8 | publisher = New Left Review | date = March–April 1961 | url = https://newleftreview.org/I/8/norman-fruchter-where-is-the-ginger-man }}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Donleavy, J. P.}} [[Category:1926 births]] [[Category:2017 deaths]] [[Category:Alumni of Trinity College Dublin]] [[Category:20th-century American novelists]] [[Category:American atheists]] [[Category:American people of Irish descent]] [[Category:American emigrants to Ireland]] [[Category:Irish atheists]] [[Category:Irish dramatists and playwrights]] [[Category:Irish novelists]] [[Category:Irish male writers]] [[Category:Writers from County Westmeath]] [[Category:Writers from New York City]] [[Category:Postmodern writers]] [[Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights]] [[Category:American male novelists]] [[Category:American male dramatists and playwrights]] [[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II]] [[Category:20th-century American male writers]] [[Category:Novelists from New York (state)]]