enjoying independence outside of parents’ sphere, 48, 50
financial comfort of family, 55
Gertrude Stein’s note to, during Chapel Hill visit, 38
iconic power of childhood house, 46–47
impact of brother Joel’s death in childbirth, 33
IQ scores, 61, 71
joy in nature, 45
love of writing, 47
pet dog Mac and other pets, 44, 47, 62
public school attendance in Chapel Hill, 40–41, 48
pushing a classmate into a swimming pool at a party, 42
racial attitudes in Chapel Hill, 25–26
reading books with mother, 29–30
rewriting fairy tales and relocating to familiar sites, 30
seventh grade, 48
sitting on the roof, talking with Judith, 53–54
sleeping arrangements in expanded house, 33
Southern womanhood background, 49
stay with grandmother during mother’s pregnancy with son, 30–31, 33
summer vacations on Lake Sebago, Maine, 36, 38, 45, 48, 49, 77, 83
suspicions her family was unlike others, 45
Wisconsin stay, 68–75, 76
woods rambling with Judith, 51–52
MARRIAGE TO MARK LINENTHAL, 1, 504 Adams on the marriage, 225, 494
Adams’s analysis sessions, 156–57, 159, 175
Adams’s brief romance with Bruno Trentin during marriage, 126, 127–28
Adams’s relationship with her in-laws, 149
Agatha and Nic Adams’s visit, 158–59
Billy Abrahams’s friendship, 150, 151–52, 155, 176
Brattle Street, Cambridge, apartment, 121
concert and lecture attendance, 171, 173
Cynthia Scott on marital relationship, 176–77
decision to marry Linenthal, 118–19, 225
disagreement over Linenthal’s thesis, 178–79
discontent as wife without status in her husband’s world, 154, 185
discussion about having children, 154
divorce considerations, 2, 202, 203
divorce decision and filing, 2, 202, 203, 204, 205–6, 293, 311, 474, 505
early relationship period, 115, 117, 118
first meeting with Linenthal, 110, 112
Frank Granat on marriage, 155–56
Herbert Blau on marriage, 153
loneliness in marriage, 129, 181
Mailers’ friendship in Paris, 133–37, 139, 141
Mailers’ later visits, 149, 157–58, 168, 231
Menlo Park house, 1, 180
misgivings over decision to marry, 118–19
move to larger house for new baby, 168–69
Nic and Dotsie Adams’s wedding attendance, 187
Palo Alto life, 150–51, 154–55, 176–77
Paris sojourn, 123, 130–39, 142–47, 182
photo from 1950s, 185n
Presidio Heights, San Francisco, apartment, 180–81, 192
reasons for marrying Linenthal, 119–20
recognition of need for change, 192, 197–99
Salzburg Seminars, 122–25, 126–28, 138, 442
Saul Bellow’s visit, 177–78
summer vacations, 149, 155, 166–67, 187, 188, 505
support for Adams’s writing, 159, 179
travels in France, 139–40
trip to Italy after Salzburg Seminar and, 126–29
wedding celebration in Chapel Hill, 118–19, 120–21
AS MOTHER Adams as doting mother, 170, 171, 175
Adams seen as overwhelmed by parenting, 177
concerns about Peter inheriting “craziness” of parents’ families, 171
looking forward to parenthood, 167–68
reaction to psychological analysis of son’s preschool drawings, 181
reaction to son’s birth, 170
son as common ground in Linenthal marriage, 172–73
RELATIONSHIP WITH BOB MCNIE, 240, 252–58, 265–66, 292, 305, 321, 331, 341, 353, 358, 366, 375–76, 377, 382, 390, 420, 468, 475 Adams on McNie, 251–52, 253, 254, 255–56, 259, 321, 331, 375–76, 416–17
Adams’s decision to break with McNie, 418, 419, 420, 421, 422
Adams’s desire for independence, 377, 394, 404, 417, 418, 429
Adams’s feelings toward McNie, after break, 423, 424, 427, 429, 431, 439–40, 441, 477
Adams’s notebook entries on McNie, 4, 251–52, 254, 257, 292n, 415, 417, 421, 422–23, 429, 431, 439
birthday celebrations for Adams, 249, 251, 321, 403–4, 506
Diane Johnson on McNie, 421–22
fiction based on experiences with McNie, 253, 258–59, 292, 293–94, 319, 320, 322, 376, 377, 415, 425, 428, 431, 434, 435, 438, 440, 441, 443–44, 446, 457, 475, 486
fights with McNie, 393, 394, 404
financial difficulties of McNie, 359–60, 393, 410–11, 412
first meeting with McNie, 251–52, 331
Judith Adams on McNie, 240
marijuana use with McNie, 273
McNie’s drinking and alcoholism, 253, 319, 417, 320, 348, 358, 359, 369, 370, 393, 394, 404, 410, 413, 417, 419
McNie’s enthusiasm and support for writing projects, 265, 292, 302, 310–11, 345, 349, 381, 412
McNie’s extramarital affairs, 421n, 447
McNie’s growing discontent over Adams’s success, 369, 393, 404
McNie’s move into 3904 Clay Street apartment, 254–55, 268, 350, 359, 390
McNie’s support after Nic Adams’s death, 276, 277, 278, 342
new house (2661 Clay Street) purchase with McNie, 390, 391–92, 393, 410–11, 434, 465, 496–97
People magazine profile of Adams and McNie, 331, 506
reason for not marrying McNie, 256, 331, 420
social events with McNie, 277–78, 286, 287, 308, 309–10, 316, 327–28, 338, 345, 346, 354, 358–59, 368, 369–70, 382, 403, 417
Truckee River house stays, 257, 258–59, 287, 292, 306, 350, 354, 359, 417, 420
vacations with McNie, 272, 289, 290–91, 293, 327, 333, 338, 345, 346, 354, 356, 360, 364, 376, 377, 379, 390, 410, 413, 438, 445n
HEALTH abortion during affair with Vasco Pereira, 217
arthroscopic surgery, 486–87
chest pain followed by hospitalization, 487–88
death at home, 489
emergency hysterectomy, 249–50
menopause, 250
plastic surgery on eyelids, 390
severe bout of pneumonia, 481
surgery experience basis for Medicine Men, 464–67
surgery for malignant polyp in colon, 401–2
surgery for sinus cancer, 450–53, 456, 458
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE beauty after sinus cancer surgery, 456
Bob McNie’s clothing recommendations, 255, 265, 331, 437
Dorothy Clark’s charcoal portrait, 53
family photograph (late 1931), 34
as four-year-old, 28
Irving Howe on, in California, 233
Mark Linenthal’s first impression of Adams, 112
photograph in Paris (1947), 131
photograph with pet dog (late 1930s), 44–45
physical resemblance to mother, 240, 247
professional author photograph (1959), 209
in public school, 40–41
at Radcliffe, 106
Robbie McNie comments on, on first meeting Adams, 255
in Rome (1947), 128
seventh grade, after summer in Maine, 48
wedding day, 120
NOTEBOOK ENTRIES Bob McNie relationship, 251–52, 254, 257, 292n, 415, 417, 421, 422–23, 429, 439
“Book of Bob” notes for Almost Perfect, 431, 435, 439, 443
range of content, 4
reaching same age as mother at her death, 373–74
tentative notebook titles revealing uncertainty about writing, 45
verses with theme of joy in nature, 45
READING HABITS books about changes in American culture in
sixties, 273
childhood reading with mother, 29–30
in high school, 50
list of books for Pereira to read, 215–16
Trollope’s novels, 11
two novels on effect of parental affairs, 39
WRITING INSPIRATIONS FROM REAL-LIFE EXPERIENCES After the War, 478
aging of older woman in “The Fog in the Streets,” 183
Almost Perfect, 443, 444, 445n, 446
Careless Love, 36, 79, 80, 81, 206–7, 210, 232
Caroline’s Daughters, 425, 431
character drawn from biography of playwright Paul Green, 22
childhood home for “My First and Only House,” 46–47
effect of parental affairs in “At First Sight,” 39–40
Families and Survivors, 61, 64, 65, 96–97, 99, 109n, 112n, 119, 160n, 169, 176, 181n, 198, 204, 222, 274, 275, 276, 281, 308, 310
Listening to Billie, 117, 170n, 239, 250, 266, 284–86, 288, 291–92, 315
Medicine Men, 454, 464–65
parents’ emotional separation and stories with theme of family unit of loving parents and children, 34
parents’ marriage for “Are You in Love?,” 19, 300
public school experiences in “Truth or Consequences,” 41
returning to childhood town as an adult in “The Visit,” 28, 461n
Rich Rewards, 31, 322n, 341, 344, 350, 351, 352, 354, 358
Second Chances, 273, 401, 404, 431
A Southern Exposure, 41, 43, 50, 61, 462
Superior Women, 90, 93, 94, 101, 102–3, 110n, 137, 146, 154, 184, 293–94, 364, 384n
Trollope’s novels as favorites and models, 11
Verlie Jones’s employment in parents’ home in childhood, 24, 27, 300
woods exploration images, from childhood experiences, 51–52
WRITING PROCESS Adams’s seminars at Stanford, 158, 367
bit of dialogue on mother-child relationship, 49
Colette comparison, 131, 210, 343, 366, 421, 432, 485, 498
collaboration on murder mystery, 182
creative writing course, University of North Carolina, 97–98
Guerard’s fiction writing seminar, Harvard, 106–8, 309
Norman Mailer’s support in publishing stories, 135–36, 159
San Francisco writers’ group, 307, 506
solitude of writing as a profession, 289, 306, 336
UNPUBLISHED WORK. See also specific titles bit of dialogue on mother-child relationship, 49
chapters of a novel about women named Arden or Avery, 381
children’s book about a cat, 457
story on parents’ romance, 17
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION Best American Short Stories mentions, 302, 337, 469
childhood projects, 43
Guggenheim Fellowship, 330–31, 347, 506
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) fiction award, 506
O. Henry Awards, 289, 290, 302, 337, 362, 400, 505, 506
O. Henry Special Award for Continuing Achievement, 362, 506
Radcliffe Alumnae Recognition Award, 479
Adams, Belle Barney (grandmother), 16, 38
Adams, Henry, 16
Adams, Henry II and Edith Squires, 16
Adams, Joel Willard (brother), 31, 32–33, 40, 160, 275, 343, 503
Adams, Joel Willard (great-grandfather), 16, 33
Adams, Joel Willard Jr. (grandfather), 16, 33, 38
Adams, John, 16
Adams, John Quincy, 16
Adams, Judith Clark, 76–77, 78, 83, 114, 200, 218, 341, 424, 458, 460, 482, 503, 505 Adams’s relationship with Bob McNie and, 302, 346, 375, 413–14, 417, 418, 419n, 475
Adams’s romances and, 33, 59, 61, 63, 64–65, 71, 72–74, 77, 81, 182, 213, 214, 219, 226, 231, 328n, 370, 381, 477
childhood life with Adams, 9, 34, 49–52, 53–54, 58
family background of, 50, 52–53, 60
friendship at first sight with, 49, 200, 481, 500
high school with Adams, 59–60, 61, 62, 63
Kate character in Families and Survivors and, 198, 205, 295
later resumption of friendship and visits with, 169, 176, 198, 240, 251, 300–302, 346–47, 359n, 367, 381, 392, 411, 413–14, 450, 483, 496
“Roses, Rhododendron” and, 53–54, 301, 302, 303
Adams, Nicholson Barney “Nic” (father) Agatha’s death and, 160–61, 166
Agatha’s estate administration by, 162
Alice disinherited in will of, 277, 279, 342, 343
Alice on, 187
Alice’s dislike of, 159
Alice’s feeling that love for him is unrequited, 275, 417
Alice’s recollection of, as performer rather than participant, 34
Alice’s success as writer and, 276
Alice’s wedding to Mark and, 120, 158–59
attractiveness to women, 42
birth of, 503
burial site of, next to Agatha, 275, 374, 500
caring for Alice after her surgery, 250
death of parents and, 38
declining health and death of, 272–73, 274, 505
drinking and alcoholism of, 27, 34, 37, 42, 187, 193, 276, 272
fascination with languages, 15
flirtations with other women, 149, 161, 187, 371
friend’s accusation of Alice being a “bad daughter” to, 174–75
high school teaching jobs of, 14, 21
love of Spain, 18, 42, 149–50, 160, 276, 471
manic and undependable behavior of, after Agatha’s death, 166–67, 174–75
marriage to Dotsie Wilson, 187, 192, 193, 215, 272–73, 274–75, 276, 342, 504
physical appearance of, 15, 27, 34, 35, 42, 120, 272, 275
pipe smoking by, 2, 34, 53, 276
as professor, University of North Carolina, 8, 21, 27–28, 36, 65, 71, 96, 160, 187, 276, 503
recurring depressions of, 40, 44, 60, 96, 114, 160, 161, 167, 169, 174, 178, 187, 273, 343, 503
relationship with Alice, after Agatha’s death, 250, 272, 274
as visiting professor at universities, 65, 71, 250, 272
FAMILY BACKGROUND AND EARLY LIFE ambition in family, 20–21
differences in background and temperament between Agatha and, 15–16
enlistment as private in army, 17
Infantry Division service as translator-interpreter in France, 18
journal kept during army service, 18
maternal Barney ancestors, 16
paternal English Puritan Adams ancestors, 16
Southern (Virginian) background of family, 8, 9
Spanish literature doctorate Columbia University, 8, 17, 18, 19
two bachelor’s degrees, 15
white Anglo-Saxon Protestant background, 9
MARRIAGE TO AGATHA, 503 Agatha’s anger at Nic, 250
Agatha’s independence from Nic in later years, 161, 175
Alice on parents’ distance from each other, 24
Alice on parents’ home and open land, 23
Alice’s imagining parents’ lives before her birth, 19
changes with aging, 35
Chapel Hill farmhouse home, 8, 22–23, 27, 33, 46–47, 53, 503
Chapel Hill life, 21–23, 36, 42, 43, 195
choice of name for daughter, 9
circle of neighborhood faculty couples, 36
coping with absence for depression treatment, 114
death of son in childbirth, 30–33, 40, 160, 503
emotional distance, 33–34
European sojourn and travels, 19–20
financial status and privileged condition of family, 55
marriage to Agatha and return to Columbia, 19
meeting and courtship, 17, 19
Nic’s flirtations with other women, 149
Nic’s mental health strains and treatments, 37, 38–39
Nic’s pursuit of Dotsie Wilson, 38, 40, 96, 503
racial attitudes in Chapel Hill, 25–26
separate sleepi
ng arrangements in expanded house, 33
social circle of literature professors, 27
Toklas-Stein visit, 37–38
vacation in Cuba and Mexico, 55, 58, 503
Verlie Jones’s employment in home, 24–25, 26–27, 29, 55, 160
Wisconsin stay, 68–71, 76
ALICE’S CHILDHOOD Alice at Radcliffe maintaining distant relationship with parents, 95
Alice’s birth and Agatha’s convalescence, 8–9, 23, 24
Alice’s diary at age eleven describing her activities and friends, 43–44, 45
Alice’s enjoying independence outside of parents’ sphere, 48, 50
Alice’s preference for father, 163
Alice’s rewriting fairy tales and relocating to familiar sites, 30
Alice’s suspicions her family was unlike others, 45
college planning with Alice, 86
emotional absence of Nic, 46
kindergarten attendance, 29
literary precocity of Alice, 46
neighborhood playmates for Alice, 29
Nic’s withdrawn love during hospitalization, 417
as older parent, 9
pet dog Mac and other pets, 44, 47, 62
summer vacations on Lake Sebago, 36, 38, 48, 77
AS WRITER dream of a bohemian life as writer, 19
edition of work by Zorrilla, 27
friendship and projects with editor Thomas Wilson, 28, 33, 37, 38, 39, 40
guide to Spanish literature in English translation, coauthored with Agatha, 22
The Heritage of Spain, 18, 28, 40, 55
joint diary with Agatha of European trip, 19, 20
PhD dissertation on playwright García Gutiérrez, 19
social meeting with Blanche and Alfred Knopf, 27
Spanish textbook, 37, 39
wife Agatha as collaborator in academic projects, 8, 19, 22, 40, 54
ALICE’S WRITING RELATED TO PARENTS’ EXPERIENCES character in Careless Love and, 217
characters based on parents’ marriage in “Are You in Love?,” 19, 300
character with same name as her father in “The Impersonators,” 147
effect of parental affairs in “At First Sight,” 39–40
father as character in range of fiction, 163, 276, 300
Alice Adams Page 69
