Patrick Dennis
| Patrick Dennis | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Edward Everett Tanner III May 18, 1921 Chicago, Illinois, US |
| Died | November 6, 1976 (aged 55) New York |
| Cause of death | Pancreatic cancer |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Virginia Rowans |
| Education | Evanston Township High School |
| Occupation | Author |
| Spouse(s) | Louise Stickney (m. 1948–76) |
| Children | 2 |
Edward Everett Tanner III (May 18, 1921 – November 6, 1976), known by the nom de plume Patrick Dennis, was an American author. His novel Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade (1955) was one of the bestselling American books of the 20th century. In chronological vignettes, the narrator — also named Patrick — recalls his adventures growing up under the wing of his madcap aunt, Mame Dennis. Dennis wrote a sequel, Around the World with Auntie Mame, in 1958. Dennis based the character of Mame Dennis on his father's sister, Marion Tanner. Dennis also wrote several novels under the pseudonym Virginia Rowans.
"I write in the first person, but it is all fictional. The public assumes that what seems fictional is fact; so the way for me to be inventive is to seem factual but be fictional." All of Dennis's novels employ to some degree the traditional comic devices of masks, subterfuge and deception.
Patrick Dennis was born as Edward Everett Tanner III in Chicago, Illinois to Edward Everett Tanner II and Florence (née Thacker) Tanner, and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. He had one sister, Barbara, later Mrs. Hastings. His father nicknamed him "Pat" before he was born, after the Irish heavyweight boxer Pat Sweeney, "a dirty fighter known for kicking his opponents." When he was old enough to say so, he let it be known that he liked "Pat" better than "Edward", and so Pat he became. He attended Evanston Township High School, where he was popular and excelled in writing and theater.
In 1942, he joined the American Field Service, working as an ambulance driver in North Africa and the Middle East.
The first edition of Auntie Mame spent 112 weeks on the bestseller list, selling more than 2,000,000 copies in five different languages. The manuscript was turned down by fifteen publishers before being accepted by the Vanguard Press. Dennis and a friend marketed the book to the booksellers. At the height of its popularity, it was selling more than 1,000 copies a day; throughout 1955 and 1956, it sold between 1,000 and 5,000 a week. In 1956, with Auntie Mame, The Loving Couple: His (and Her) Story, and Guestward Ho!, Dennis became the first writer ever to have three books on the New York Times bestseller list at the same time.
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