Mark Helprin

Easton Press Mark Helprin books

A Winters Tale - signed modern classic - 2006

 

Mark Helprin biography

Mark Helprin, born on June 28, 1947, in New York City, is an accomplished American novelist and journalist known for his richly detailed and lyrical writing style. Throughout his career, Helprin has garnered acclaim for his novels, short stories, and essays that explore a diverse range of themes, including love, war, politics, and the human condition. Helprin's education began at the prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy, and he later attended Harvard University, where he studied government and served as an editor for the Harvard Crimson. After completing his undergraduate studies, he earned a Master's degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

In the early 1970s, Mark Helprin served in the British Merchant Navy and the Israeli Infantry, experiences that would later influence his writings on war and heroism. His first novel, Refiner's Fire: The Life and Adventures of Marshall Pearl, a Foundling (1977), showcased his distinctive style and storytelling prowess. Helprin gained widespread recognition with his novel Winter's Tale (1983), a fantastical and epic tale set in a mythic version of New York City. The novel explores themes of love, destiny, and the timeless struggle between good and evil. "Winter's Tale" received critical acclaim for its imaginative scope and lyrical prose. His other notable works include A Soldier of the Great War (1991), a novel that spans the course of a man's life from World War I to the present day, and A Winter's Tale (1983), a collection of short stories that further demonstrates Helprin's narrative versatility.

In addition to his fiction, Mark Helprin has been a prolific essayist, contributing thought-provoking pieces to publications such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. His essays often touch on subjects ranging from politics to culture, displaying his keen intellect and diverse interests. Mark Helprin's writing has earned him numerous awards and accolades, and his novels have resonated with readers for their poetic language, intricate plots, and exploration of profound themes. Whether capturing the magic of a mythical New York or delving into the complexities of human relationships, Helprin's works continue to leave a lasting impact on the world of literature.
 

 

A Winters Tale

Mark Helprin’s masterpiece will transport you to New York of the Belle Epoque, to a city clarified by a siege of unprecedented snows. One winter night, Peter Lake master mechanic and second-storey man attempts to rob a fortress-like mansion on the Upper West Side. Though he thinks it is empty, the daughter of the house is home. Thus begins the affair between a middle-aged Irish burglar and Beverly Penn, a young girl dying of consumption. It is a love so powerful that Peter Lake, a simple and uneducated man, will be driven to stop time and bring back the dead.

New York City is subsumed in arctic winds, dark nights, and white lights, its life unfolds, for it is an extraordinary hive of the imagination, the greatest house ever built, and nothing exists that can check its vitality. One night in winter, Peter Lake, orphan and master-mechanic, attempts to rob a fortress-like mansion on the Upper West Side.

Though he thinks the house is empty, the daughter of the house is home. Thus begins the love between Peter Lake, a middle-aged Irish burglar, and Beverly Penn, a young girl, who is dying.

Peter Lake, a simple, uneducated man, because of a love that, at first he does not fully understand, is driven to stop time and bring back the dead. His great struggle, in a city ever alight with its own energy and besieged by unprecedented winters, is one of the most beautiful and extraordinary stories of American literature.

A bestseller that takes readers on a journey to New York of the Belle Epoque, where Peter Lake attempts to rob a Manhattan mansion only to find the daughter of the house at home. Thus begins the love between the middle-aged Irishman and Beverly Penn, a young girl who is dying. "This novel ... is a gifted writer's love affair with the language." - Newsday