Jean Stafford

Date of Birth: July 1, 1915

Zodiac Sign: Cancer

Date of Death: March 26, 1979

Biography

Jean Stafford was an acclaimed American novelist and short story writer, known for her sharp, poignant prose and keen observations of human nature. Born in California, she spent much of her childhood in Colorado and later attended the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her literary career took off with the publication of her first novel, “Boston Adventure,” in 1944, which became a bestseller and established her as a significant literary figure. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1970 for her “Collected Stories.” Jean’s work often delved into themes of personal struggle, identity, and the complexities of relationships. Despite facing numerous personal challenges, including struggles with mental health and turbulent marriages, her literary contributions have left an enduring legacy.

5 Interesting Facts about Jean Stafford

1. Jean Stafford was married to the poet Robert Lowell, whose erratic behavior and mental instability significantly influenced her writing.

2. She suffered from a serious car accident in 1938, which led to multiple surgeries and chronic pain, experiences that she later incorporated into her stories.

3. Stafford was a Guggenheim Fellow, receiving the prestigious fellowship twice during her career.

4. Her novel “The Mountain Lion” is considered a semi-autobiographical work, drawing heavily from her own childhood experiences in the West.

5. Despite her success, Stafford struggled with alcoholism throughout her life, which impacted her personal and professional relationships.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Jean Stafford

1. “For all its flexibility, language is the most impersonal of all media.”

2. “Irony, I feel, is a very high form of morality.”

3. “I write because I must. It is not a choice or a pastime, it is an unyielding necessity.”

4. “The imagination is the spur of delights… all depends upon it, whether we ride it, or it rides us.”

5. “Every man is his own Pygmalion and spends his life fashioning himself. And in fashioning himself, for good or ill, he fashions the human race and its future.”

Highest Net Worth Achieved

Jean Stafford’s highest net worth is not well-documented, but as a successful author, she enjoyed considerable financial success, especially following the publication of “Boston Adventure.”