Part of a Long Story

Book excerpt: Agnes Boulton's memoir of her first two years of marriage to Eugene O'Neill was published in 1958, two years after the premiere of O'Neill's masterpiece, Long Day's Journey into Night. Contemporary critics dismissed the book as impressionistic, and it received little popular attention. Now held as a classic depicting one woman's strivings for self-representation, this new edition restores two sections previously excised for now-obsolete legal reasons. The new text features corrected misspellings and the addition of footnotes to clarify reference points and correct errors. Boulton's memoir represents an important addition to women's literature, as well as literary biography and autobiography.