Shelby Dade Foote Jr. (November 17, 1916 – June 27, 2005) was an American writer, historian and journalist. Although he primarily viewed himself as a novelist, he is now best known for his authorship of The Civil War: A Narrative, a three-volume history of the American Civil War.
Who is Shelby Foote and why is he famous?
Foote was admired by many of his peers like Walker Percy and Eudora Welty. His idol, author William Faulkner, even mentioned him in a university lecture and said that he showed promise as a writer if he wrote as Shelby Foote and not Faulkner.
What was Shelby Foote's problem with the south?
Part of the problem lay in his outdated assumptions about Southern blacks. Eight years before, on the trip to the Percys' Trail Lake Plantation, what Foote had missed was having no "Negroes gathering at the store and drinking pop and guying each other; or even working in the fields. ^ Shelby Foote (1989).
Why did Shelby Foote move to Memphis in 1952?
In 1952, Shelby Foote moved to Memphis to continue his work on ‘Two Gates to the City’, which was supposed to his masterpiece epic. However, he was struggling to complete his work, and during this time, he was contacted by Bennett Cerf of Random House publishing. Cerf proposed the idea of writing a short story about the Civil War.
What perspective did Shelby Foote write his trilogy from?
Shelby Foote wrote his trilogy from the perspective of a deeply cultured Southerner. Bloody Kansas occurred because the South wanted Kansas slave, the North wanted Kansas ‘free.’
Was Shelby Foote a Lost Cause?
Civil War historian here. Shelby Foote was an excellent writer, but he embraced a good deal of Lost Cause mythology, which is clearly reflected in his love of Nathan Bedford Forrest and his failure to fully understand the importance of slavery to the Confederate cause.
Why was Shelby Foote court martialed?
Foote served in the Army in Europe during World War II. While stationed in Belfast, he was court-martialed for an unauthorized visit to his Irish girlfriend -- later his first wife -- who lived two miles beyond the official military limits.
What does Shelby Foote say any understanding of this nation is based on?
the understanding of Civil WarAny understanding of this nation has to be based and I mean really based on the understanding of Civil War. I believe that firmly, it defined us. The revolution did what it did.
How many children did Shelby Foote have?
two childrenMr. Foote is survived by his third wife, the former Gwyn Rainer, whom he married in 1956, and two children, Margaret Shelby and Huger Lee.
Did Foote think the South ever had a chance to win the war?
Even author Shelby Foote noted that the "North fought the war with one hand behind its back." Foote also was of the opinion that had the Confederacy even come close to winning the war, the North "simply would have brought that other arm from behind its back." He added, "I don't think the South ever had a chance to win ...
What happened to Jefferson Davis after the Civil War?
After Davis was captured in 1865, he was accused of treason and imprisoned at Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia. He was never tried and was released after two years. While not disgraced, Davis had been displaced in ex-Confederate affection after the war by his leading general, Robert E. Lee.
Where did Shelby Foote grow up?
Kindred Souls. Foote did not begin writing about the Civil War until 1954, when he was about 37 years old. His fascination with the subject began when he was growing up in Greenville, Mississippi. One of his best friends was Walker Percy, who became a novelist and essayist.
How many slaves lived to 60?
Slave quarters bred diseases and only four out of 100 lived to be 60.
Did Shelby Foote graduate college?
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill1935–1937Greenville High SchoolShelby Foote/Education
Where was Shelby Foote educated?
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill1935–1937Greenville High SchoolShelby Foote/Education
Is writer Shelby Foote still alive?
June 27, 2005Shelby Foote / Date of death
Who was Shelby Foote's best friend?
His fascination with the subject began when he was growing up in Greenville, Mississippi. One of his best friends was Walker Percy, who became a novelist and essayist. Walker's uncle and guardian, William Alexander Percy, had a profound influence on the boys. "He was the greatest teacher I have ever known, because he thought about books and talked about them in a way that made you want to read them," Foote said in a July 6, 1982 interview in the Jackson, Mississippi, Clarion Ledger. In 1931, Percy began his writing career as gossip columnist for the Greenville (Mississippi) High School Pica. His first item was about the "desperate affair" of his best friend, "G.H.S.'s own playboy, Shelby Foote." The friendship survived Percy's adolescent wisecracks and Foote's later criticism of Percy for his religiosity. It survived, in fact, for six decades. Their correspondence is contained in The Correspondence of Shelby Foote and Walker Percy.
How many volumes did Shelby Foote write?
American novelist and historian Shelby Foote (born 1916) is best known for his three-volume history of the Civil War. Envisioned as a one-volume work, Foote's effort grew into a monumental project that took two decades to complete.
What was Shelby Foote's job?
Shelby Foote was also the editor of "The Pica," the local newspaper of Greenville High School. In 1935, he wanted to attend the University of North Carolina along with the Percy boys but was denied admission at first. However, he managed to get enrolled in the university later.
Who was Shelby Foote?
Shelby Foote was an American novelist, historian, and author. He grew up during the era of Great Depression. He saw several changes in his life that influenced his writings. He lived in Southern America among the cotton plantations, where depression hit hard. There was always an air of uncertainty and a looming prospect of war.
Why did Shelby Foote move to Memphis?
In 1952, Shelby Foote moved to Memphis to continue his work on ‘Two Gates to the City’, which was supposed to his masterpiece epic. However, he was struggling to complete his work, and during this time, he was contacted by Bennett Cerf of Random House publishing. Cerf proposed the idea of writing a short story about the Civil War. Even though he was not a historian, he was offered a contract of approximately 200,000 words.
Where was Shelby Foote born?
Childhood & Early Life. Shelby Foote was born on November 17, 1916, in Greenville, Mississippi, to Shelby Dade Foote and Lillian Rosenstock. He grew up in the Episcopal faith, and also attended the synagogue till he was eleven. His family lived in various places when his father worked at Armour and Company. They lived in Greenville, Jackson, and ...
Where did Shelby and his family live?
They lived in Greenville, Jackson, and Vicksburg, Mississippi, Pensacola, Florida and Mobile, Alabama. His father passed away in Mobile, Alabama when Shelby was only five years old and he moved back to Greenville with his mother.
Who was Shelby Foote's girlfriend?
Shelby Foote married his Irish girlfriend Teresa (Tess) Lavery in 1944 when he was 28 years old and moved to New York after the marriage. However, the union did not last long, and they were divorced by March 1946. When he was 32, he met Marguerite "Peggy" Desommes, who came from a prestigious family in Memphis.
Where is Huger Foote buried?
He suffered from a pulmonary embolism, followed by a heart attack, and was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis.
Who was Shelby Foote?
Shelby Foote, the historian whose incisive, seasoned commentary -- delivered in a drawl so mellifluous that one critic called it "molasses over hominy" -- evoked the Civil War for millions in the 11-hour PBS documentary in 1990, died on Monday at a Memphis hospital He was 88 and lived in Memphis. His death was reported by his wife, Gwyn, The ...
Where was Shelby Foote born?
Shelby Foote was born on Nov. 17, 1916, in Greenville, Miss., the cultural center of the Mississippi Delta. He was the only child of Shelby Dade Foote, a local businessman, whose roots ran deep in American history, and Lillian Rosenstock Foote. Among the Shelby-Foote direct ancestors was Isaac Shelby, a frontier leader in the Revolution and ...
What did Foote say about the Civil War?
"A fact is not a truth until you love it," he said. Critics suggested that Mr. Foote played down the economic, intellectual and political causes of the Civil War.
What did Foote do with Shakespeare?
Foote's books carried a great plot, and as academic historians increasingly saw themselves as social scientists armed with the tools of quantitative analysis, he turned to Shakespeare for metaphors and to colloquialisms for literary impact.
Where did William Faulkner visit?
But he did find occasion, with Walker Percy, to visit William Faulkner in Oxford, Miss. The pair were cordially received.
Who was Foote's grandfather?
Less respectable was his grandfather, Huger Lee Foote, a planter who gambled away what would have been a substantial inheritance.
Who was Shelby's uncle?
Under the influence of William Alexander Percy, a local author and the uncle of young Shelby's best friend, Walker Percy, the boy took to books, discovering abiding favorites from Shakespeare to Dickens.
Why did Shelby Foote write Bloody Kansas?
Bloody Kansas occurred because the South wanted Kansas slave, the North wanted Kansas ‘free.’. In the 1860’s, the South fought for their right to continue to enslave Black Americans.
What can I say after reading an interview with him in Confederate Veteran magazine in 1991?
What I can say is that after reading an interview with him in Confederate Veteran magazine in 1991, I can safely conclude that his understanding of the history of slavery and the Civil War is fundamentally flawed.
Why did the Northern soldiers fight for slavery?
They fought because northern soldiers were ‘down here’, invading their country. And Northern soldiers didn’t fight to end slavery, in fact, many balked at the Emancipation Proclamation, not intending to fight ‘for the negro’, but to hold the Union together. Shelby Foote is 100%, spot-on accurate.
What was William Lamb talking about?
Here in Norfolk, a young William Lamb was talking to his father about slavery in 1855. His father was a staunch advocate Colonization (moving blacks to Africa), which William “inclined towards,” but also thought there were many “happy things” associated with slavery.
Was Shelby Foote a scholar?
His understanding of key aspects of it is fundamentally flawed. He was a wonderful writer who brought the Civil War alive for many people, but he was not a scholar of the war in any sense of the word. ReplyLink. Ray LencioniJan 2, 2021 @ 11:50.
What did Shelby Foote say about the Civil War?
The Civil War, Shelby Foote used to say, was our "Iliad" --- a well of tragedy, triumph and meaning as deep to Americans as the Trojan War was to ancient Greeks. In that case, we've lost a modern-day Homer.
Where was Shelby Dade Foote born?
Like most Southerners of his time, Shelby Dade Foote grew up in the war's shadow. Born in the Mississippi Delta town of Greenville, he came from a long line of Southern aristocrats, some of whom had fought the Yankees. They chilled Shelby with their tales.
How many words did Foote have to read?
By the end of the day, he would have at least 500 words to read aloud to himself, usually over bourbon. When he finished something he liked, he rewarded himself by reading his favorite authors, chief among them Marcel Proust. Foote produced little writing after "The Civil War.".
When was Shelby Dade Foote's last book?
By the final volume (1974) , the whiskers have gone silver, the eyes sorrowful, and the writer, pushing 60, has the grave countenance of a general who has seen too much. Like most Southerners of his time, Shelby Dade Foote grew up in the war's shadow.
Who said "To plant trees in memory"?
He explained his philosophy by quoting the poet John Kea. To plant trees in memory, please visit our Sympathy Store. Published by Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Jun. 29, 2005.
How did Shelby Foote die?
He had had a heart attack after a recent pulmonary embolism.
Where was Shelby Dade Foote born?
Shelby Dade Foote Jr. was born Nov. 17, 1916, in Greenville, Miss. He inherited colorful ancestors, including frontiersmen, gamblers who squandered fortunes and soldiers who fought for the Confederacy. His father, a supervisor for Armour Meats, died during a medical procedure, and he was raised by his mother.
What did Claiborne like to cook?
He told Claiborne he preferred recipes, such as boiled beef with veal knuckle, that "required more time than kitchen talent, long-drawn-out dishes that cook for hours and are easy to do.". Some of his recipes provided him one of his lesser-known publishing credits: the Memphis Junior League cookbook.
