A Life of Anne Tyler

Anne Tyler has been acknowledged as one of America's greatest living novelists. An inspiring chronicler of what lies beneath the everyday, she has written twenty-four acclaimed works, her first in 1964 when she was just twenty-three, and her most recent at the age of eighty. Her best-known novels include Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant and The Accidental Tourist, made into an Oscar-winning movie. She is greatly loved by her legions of fans all around the world.

But for decades, Anne avoided all public appearances and publicity, refusing to talk about herself or her life. Now, for the first time, this gripping biography unveils all—from Anne's childhood in a Quaker commune to her astonishing writing career and happy years in Baltimore, the city ever present in her work and almost a character in itself. Her story reveals the many experiences and preoccupations that were reflected in her writing and Anne emerges as a woman of great charm, warmth, and humor—but one far bleaker in her estimation of the human race than might ever be guessed.

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Reviews of A Life of Anne Tyler

Absolutely wonderful biography (Amazon review)

This is an absolutely wonderful biography of one of my favorite authors, Anne Tyler. It made me want to read all her books over again. I do hope that there will be another book after French Braid. (5 out of 5 stars)

Wonderful and definitive (Amazon review)

This is the first self-published book I have ever read, and I really am inspired by Anne Wellman: she has written an EXTREMELY well-researched account of Anne Tyler’s life and the definitive biography of my favorite author to-date! I thought I knew just about everything there was to know about Tyler, but this is filled with the kind of details and nuanced insight that can only come through personal visits to archives, speaking to actual people who know her, and so on. I hope this book finds a robust audience among anyone interested in contemporary literature. (5 out of 5 stars)

Good job! (Goodreads review)

Finally I get a fuller picture of this elusive writer. I’ve often wondered about Anne Tyler’s upbringing in a quaker community, why she chose to study russian language and literature at a time when the relationship between the USA and the USSR was at its lowest, how she met her iranian husband, her relationship with her persian relatives and why that experience only figures in one of her novels (Digging to America), her writing process, but most of all her own comments on her 24 novels. It’s all there!

Good job, Anne Wellman, and thank you! I have been waiting for this since I read The Accidental Tourist for the first time in 1987 and fell in love with Anne Tyler’s writing. (5 out of 5 stars)

I read it voraciously (author Winona Kent)

I came upon your excellent biography and read it voraciously - it gave me so much background on the lovely lady, and the information you provided put so many things in perspective for me.

Delightful biography (Amazon review)

Very well done. Easy to fall love with Ms. Tyler and her family. Good insight into how she writes all her excellent novels. (5 out of 5 stars)

So many questions answered (Amazon review)

I am delighted with the book, 'A Life of Anne Tyler.' I enjoy her novels enormously, while wondering about the author. This incredibly well researched 'Life' tells me all I wanted to know in a detailed, respectful but searching way. I recommend this biography to all those interested in the work of Anne Tyler. (5 out of 5 stars)

Impressive detail (Amazon review)

Extremely well-written and the detail is impressive. The book seeks to show how Anne's novels were influenced by her life and relationships. It succeeds admirably. (5 out of 5 stars)

A must-read for Tyler devotees (Amazon review)

Many times I have wondered about the life of the author and am so grateful for the wealth of information that Anne Wellman offers in this book. Wellman’s respect for the author and reverence for the stories (biographical and fictional) shine through. With each chapter I found myself turning again to the novels and appreciating them all the more… If Anne Tyler books have been companions along your way as they have been mine, I can whole-heartedly recommend ‘A Life of Anne Tyler’.

Well-written view into a private life (Amazon review)

Sometimes you'd just rather not know about the author or the actor and leave well-enough alone. You'd rather just imagine what they are like if at all. But this time I was glad to read about a much loved author… Anne Wellman is able to draw out the events in Tyler's life that make you realize that, yes, this woman has experienced much and bore loss and challenge stoically with much emotion running just beneath the surface, perhaps giving birth to some of her characters… Anne Wellman does a nice job in bringing Anne Tyler to us in a way I had not known her before. (4 stars)

Detailed and interesting (Amazon review)

Anne Tyler is one of my favourite writers. This assured biography gives a valuable insight into how she does it, and some fascinating details of her life. I like the detailed accounts of her novels and their critical reception, and the details of her life and her writing process Wellman has gleaned and collated from a variety of sources. I think it should prove interesting to anyone with any interest in Tyler’s writing.
The quality of Wellman’s writing is excellent too. It is self-published but would sit happily on any serious publisher’s list. (5 stars)

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