In his 2002 novel Wish You Were Here Stewart O’Nan introduced readers to the Maxwells, as Emily Maxwell gathered together her extended family after the death of her husband Henry. O’Nan’s 2011 novel Emily, Alone, an “utterly captivating portrait of widowhood and old age” (NPR), followed Emily years later as she discovers her own hidden strength and independence. In his new novel HENRY, HIMSELF (Viking; Hardcover: On Sale: April 9, 2019), O’Nan returns once again to the Maxwell family, focusing on Emily’s husband. Told through poignant vignettes and written in O’Nan’s trademark beautifully sparse prose, HENRY, HIMSELF follows Henry Maxwell—an honorable, hardworking family man from the Greatest Generation—throughout his life as a soldier, son, lover, husband, breadwinner, and churchgoer. The result is a warmhearted portrait of an American original that subtly, but unflinchingly, reckons with the responsibilities attached to being a privileged white male in the mid-to-late 20th century.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Stewart O'Nan is the author of sixteen previous novels, including City of Secrets; West of Sunset; The Odds; Emily, Alone; Songs for the Missing; Wish You Were Here; A Prayer for the Dying; and Snow Angels. His novel Last Night at the Lobster was a national bestseller and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. He was born, raised, and lives in Pittsburgh.
