Wilfrid Sheed

English-born American novelist, nonfiction writer, journalist, and editor.

  • Born: December 27, 1930
  • Birthplace: London, England
  • Died: January 19, 2011
  • Place of death: Great Barrington, Massachusetts

Biography

Wilfrid Sheed was born in 1930 into a publishing family. His father was Francis Joseph Sheed; his mother Maisie War, both of them writers and publishers. On his mother’s side there were, in fact, four generations of writers. His parents had established the Catholic publishing house of Sheed and Ward in 1926 in London, England, which is where Wilfrid was born. In 1933, a branch of the firm was opened in New York and became a significant part of the Catholic intellectual community there.

At the outbreak of World War II, the family moved back to the United States, living in a small community in Pennsylvania. In 1944 Sheed contracted polio, but learned to fight the disability tenaciously. Soon after, he was sent back to England to enter the prestigious Catholic Boarding School, Downside. From there he went to Lincoln College, Oxford University, graduating in 1954 with a major in history. He spent some time with relatives in Australia before returning to New York.

He began to write novels, then later entered journalism, firstly as movie reviewer for the Catholic Jubilee from 1959, staying with the magazine until 1966. He reviewed for Commonweal, becoming books editor until 1967. then followed a short spell with Esquire, then from 1971, The New York Times Book Review. In his personal life, he had problems with various addictions, which he finally managed to beat. Then came a bout with tongue cancer, which, again, he was able to overcome. He continued to write novels intermittently, as well as a steady stream of nonfiction.

His first published novel was A Middle-Class Education based on his Oxford experiences. It was too long for its treatment of academic hypocrisy, but he received recognition for his wit and dialogue. The Hack followed in 1963, a depiction of the pathetic hack-writers Sheed abhorred himself. It was Square’s Progress that won him recognition as a significant American writer. It is a comedic treatment of a young couple whose lifestyle differences become reversed after they divorce. Office Politics was nominated for a National Book Award. This was followed by two novellas, The Blacking Factory, based on his boarding school experiences, and Pennsylvania Gothic, both appearing in one volume in 1968. Max Jamison appeared as The Critic in the UK, being nominated for the National Book Award for 1971; and then Transatlantic Blues in 1978, returning to a familiar theme of the influence of an Anglo-American education.

In addition to fiction, Sheed wrote a biography, Muhammad Ali; an autobiography about overcoming his problems, In Love with Daylight; and a collection of his journalistic pieces in Vanishing Species of America. He also published a sociological study, Three Mobs: Labor, Church, and Mafia in 1974. Nonfiction dominated his output in his later years. Sheed died at the age of eighty on January 19, 2011, due to urosepsis while living in a nursing home.

Author Works

Long Fiction:

A Middle-Class Education, 1960

The Hack, 1963

Square's Progress, 1965

Office Politics, 1966

The Blacking Factory and Pennsylvania Gothic, 1968

Max Jamison, 1970 (in U.K. as The Critic)

People Will Always Be Kind, 1973

Transatlantic Blues, 1978

The Boys of Winter, 1987

Nonfiction:

The Morning After, 1971

Vanishing Species of America, 1974

Three Mobs: Labor, Church, and Mafia, 1974

Muhammad Ali, 1975

The Good Word & Other Words, 1978

Clare Boothe Luce, 1982

Frank and Maisie: A Memoir with Parents, 1985

Essays in Disguise, 1990

Baseball and Lesser Sports, 1991

My Life as a Fan, 1993

In Love with Daylight: A Memoir of Recovery, 1995

The House That George Built: With a Little Help from Irving, Cole, and a Crew of About Fifty, 2007

Bibliography

Barber, Michael. "Wilfrid Sheed Obituary." The Guardian, 21 Feb. 2011, www.theguardian.com/books/2011/feb/21/wilfrid-sheed-obituary. Accessed 19 Jun. 2017. Provides a general outline of Sheed's life, making note of his major works and his reputation as a literary critic.

Barra, Allen. "From the Archives: Allen Barra on Wilfrid Sheed." Critical Mass, National Book Critics Circle, 20 Jan. 2011, bookcritics.org/blog/archive/from‗the‗archives‗six‗degrees‗of‗sheed. Accessed 19 Jun. 2017. Barra discusses Sheed as a critic, suggesting he was the ideal reviewer in both style and practice.

Cheuse, Alan. "Remembering Wilfrid Sheed, A Master of Wit." NPR, 21 Jan. 2011, www.npr.org/2011/01/21/133090935/remembering-wilfrid-sheed-a-master-of-wit. Accessed 19 Jun. 2017. Discusses the highlights of Sheed's career, including his trademark wit across fiction, nonfiction, and book reviews.

Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher. "Wilfrid Sheed, Writer of Gentle Wit, Dies at 80." The New York Times, 19 Jan. 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/01/20/books/20sheed.html. Accessed 19 Jun. 2017. This obituary provides an overview of Sheed's entire life and career.

Sheed, Wilfrid. In Love with Daylight: A Memoir of Recovery. Simon & Schuster, 1995. Sheed's autobiography focuses on his battles to overcome alcoholism and tongue cancer, providing insight into his life and personality.