Summer Crossing
Encyclopedia
Summer Crossing is Truman Capote's
Truman Capote
Truman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...

 first novel, written during the 1940s. Capote eventually cast it aside and it was thought to be lost for over 50 years, but was eventually published in 2005.

Conception and critical reception

Capote started writing Summer Crossing in 1943 when he was working for The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...

. After taking an evening walk in Monroeville, Alabama
Monroeville, Alabama
Monroeville is a city in Monroe County, Alabama, United States, the county seat of Monroe County. At the 2000 census its population was 6,862. It is known as the home town of two prominent writers of the post World War II period, Truman Capote and Harper Lee, who were childhood friends in the...

 and being inspired to pen his first published novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms
Other Voices, Other Rooms (novel)
Other Voices, Other Rooms is a novel written by Truman Capote published in January 1948. Other Voices, Other Rooms is written in the Southern Gothic style and is notable for its atmosphere of isolation and decadence....

, he set aside the manuscript. On August 30, 1949, while vacationing in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

, Capote informed his publisher that he was approximately two-thirds through his first draft. Capote optimistically spoke of finalizing the manuscript by the end of the year, even making a vow that he would not return to the United States until it was finished, but never did turn over more than a first draft to his publisher. Capote had been reviewing and making minor edits to the work over a period of approximately 10 years. Robert Linscott, Capote's senior editor at Random House, was unimpressed with the first draft. He said he thought it was a good novel, but that it didn't showcase Capote's "distinctive artistic voice." After reading the draft over several times, Capote noted that the novel was "well written and its got a lot of style", but he just didn't like it. In particular Capote began "to fear [the novel] was thin, clever, unfelt." Later Capote claimed to have destroyed the unpolished manuscript, along with several other notebooks of prose, as a part of this fit of harsh self-criticism.

Manuscript recovery

A number of writings including the manuscript to Summer Crossing had been rescued from the trash by the house sitter of an apartment in Brooklyn Heights
Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn
Brooklyn Heights is a culturally diverse neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Originally referred to as 'Brooklyn Village', it has been a prominent area of Brooklyn since 1834. As of 2000, Brooklyn Heights sustained a population of 22,594 people. The neighborhood is part of...

, where Capote lived around 1950. Upon the death of the house sitter, his nephew discovered Capote's papers and sent them to Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...

 for auction in 2004. The papers failed to sell at auction because of the high price and because the physical papers did not confer publication rights to the work, which were held by The Truman Capote Literary Trust. Subsequently, the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...

 reached an agreement to buy the papers and archived them in its permanent Truman Capote Collection. After a consultation with Capote's lawyer, Summer Crossing was published in 2005. The first edition was set from Capote's original manuscript, which was written in four school notebooks and 62 supplemental notes, with an afterword by Alan U. Schwartz, Capote's executor.

An excerpt of the story was also published in the October 24, 2005 issue of The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...

.

Plot summary

The story takes place in New York City over the course of the hot summer of 1945.

Grady McNeil, a young Upper class
Upper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...

 Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

 débutante
Debutante
A débutante is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal "début" presentation. It should not be confused with a Debs...

, steadfastly refuses to accompany her parents on their usual summer ritual of travel, in this case, to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. Left in the city for the summer by herself, she begins a covert romance with Clyde Manzer, a Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

 parking lot attendant, whom she had noticed several months earlier. Grady spends time with Clyde and meets some of his friends, and in turn the couple visits the Central Park Zoo
Central Park Zoo
The Central Park Zoo is a small zoo located in Central Park in New York City. It is part of an integrated system of four zoos and the New York Aquarium managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society , and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums .The zoo began in the 1860s as a...

 together. There, Clyde invites Grady to his younger brother's bar mitzvah.

As the summer heats up, so does Grady's and Clyde's romance. The couple is quickly wed in Red Bank, New Jersey
Red Bank, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 11,844 people, 5,201 households, and 2,501 families residing in the borough. The population density was 6,639.1 people per square mile . There were 5,450 housing units at an average density of 3,055.0 per square mile...

 at 2 AM one morning. Once married, Grady meets Clyde's Middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....

 family in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

, and only then is the couple truly faced with the stark reality of the culture divide between her family and his. Grady then realizes at her sister Apple's home that she is six weeks pregnant with Clyde's child.

Grady has passed over a couple of opportunities to spend time with the handsome young Peter Bell, a man of her social stature who is romantically interested in her. Eventually Grady's sister, Apple, confronts her about her relationship with Clyde. In an abrubt ending, Grady aims her speeding Buick
Buick
Buick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...

 with passengers Peter, Clyde and Gump so it will crash off the Queensboro Bridge
Queensboro Bridge
The Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, also known as the 59th Street Bridge – because its Manhattan end is located between 59th and 60th Streets – or simply the Queensboro Bridge, is a cantilever bridge over the East River in New York City that was completed in 1909...

, killing everyone.

Characters

Grady McNeil: The 17-year-old protagonist of the story. Grady is a beautiful, wealthy Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

 socialite. Her mother names her after her stillborn brother.

Apple McNeil: Grady's conventional sister who is 8 years older than Grady.

Mrs. Lucy McNeil: Grady's mother.

Mr. Lamont McNeil: Grady's father.

Peter Bell: One of Grady's suitors.

Clyde Manzer: A young Jewish war veteran with whom Grady has an affair. Clyde is a Brooklyn native and works as a car park attendant.

Mrs. Ida Manzer: Clyde's mother.

Gump: One of Clyde's friends.

Film adaptation

An adaptation of Summer Crossing was confirmed in November 2011. Playwright Tristine Skyler
Tristine Skyler
Tristine Skyler is an American playwright, screenwriter, and producer. She was born and raised in New York City, and graduated Cum Laude from Princeton University...

 will write the screenplay and actress Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson is an American actress, model and singer.Johansson made her film debut in North and was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in Manny & Lo . She rose to further prominence with her roles in The Horse Whisperer and Ghost World...

is directing.
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