Response to the book has been generally rewarding. Positive reviews have appeared in such wide-ranging places as the University of Kansas Alumni Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, American Scholar, the Star-Tribune of Minneapolis (Kathleen Rooney’s gracious review of Dec. 26, 2021, has also been picked up by numerous smaller papers around the country). Notable was an essay that sprawled over five pages in the January 2021 Harper’s. The author, Gemma Sieff, had interviewed Connell in 2011 and used the occasion of my book to revisit her experience with him and his works. I can’t argue with her highly positive words about Literary Alchemist.

I don’t usually put a lot of stock in reviews posted on Amazon. Though most are well-meaning, it’s rare to find a passionate and knowledgeable contributor (at least in my experience). An exception is Elizabeth Broun’s mini-review, which she posted in January. Elizabeth is former director of the Spencer Museum at the University of Kansas and the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. Here’s her take:

After first discovering "Mrs. Bridge" decades ago, I've eagerly anticipated each new Connell publication as a unique exciting experience, each book unlike any other. When Connell turned from fiction to historical reflections --- "Son of the Morning Star," "The Alchemist's Journal," a book on the crusades, and another on Goya --- the pattern of his work began to emerge. Connell captures the fatal forgetfulness of modern life --- the horrors of WWII and Vietnam, the atrocities of religious righteousness, the inhumanity between colonizers and indigenous people ---as told by contemporary witnesses to all this. His observations are offered without condescension and in prose that has an affecting musicality. There's no one who can write like Connell across such a spectrum of current and historical worlds, from a personal vantage point that resonates with readers. Yes, my own interests center on history and art, so I'm partial ... but Connell speaks to all of us about ourselves.

Steve Paul's biography---Connell's first comprehensive biography---is blessedly straightforward, full of specific facts, free of pontificating, and insightful in linking the myriad threads of Connell's complicated private life and art. He writes with clarity and plenty of detailed information, so I can make my own more informed understanding of this complex author, according to my personal reading of his works.

After just finishing Paul's book, I've ordered 8 of Connell's books, many of which I once owned but eventually gave away and want now to re-read, to add to the 6 remaining on my shelf. I know now how my 2022 will start!

Well, boy howdy, thank you. The best news I’ve had has come from numerous people who report that my book has sent them back to Connell’s work.

Some of the most startling receptions have come to me privately in letters from people who who knew Connell in one way or another at various stages of his life. I cherish a letter that came from Jane Vandenburgh, who was a close friend of Connell’s, having been girlfriend of then married to his longtime editor, Jack Shoemaker. Jane’s reaction to the book was visceral; she started rereading the Bridge novels; she got over an early resistance to Son of the Morning Star and now considers it “one of the best histories of anything I’ve ever read.” Ultimately, she told me, “It’s astonishing really how vital he becomes in your beautiful book, how he figures hapticly forth in his physical presence.”

Yes, I couldn’t help but to be moved.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to have chatted with veteran biographer Carl Rollyson for his weekly podcast, “A Life in Biography.” Carl is biographer of Marilyn Monroe, Sylvia Plath, William Faulkner and many others. In a teaser to my appearance, Carl called Literary Alchemist “an impeccable state-of-the-art biography.” You can find the hour-long program via your usual podcast portal or here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-lively-talk-with-steve-paul-about-literary/id1508239647?i=1000549376164

Overall, I wish there’d been a few more reviews. Maybe others will come down the road. This is a tough time for author tours and events, but I’ll be doing a virtual conversation for the Santa Fe Public Library, much like the one we did at the KC library in early December. Santa Fe is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. (Central)/4:30 (Mountain) on March 24. I’ll also be on a panel at the Unbound Book Festival in Columbia, MO, the weekend of April 22-24; details to come. And other events are in the works.

If anyone actually finds and reads this post, and has read Literary Alchemist, I’d be glad to hear from you.