With a light-hearted approach, Kelly Boler delves into a grim topic: the intriguing and surprisingly enduring influence of alcohol in the world of literature. Boler provides insight into how alcohol has intricately intertwined with the self-perceptions, regional identities, and familial connections of twenty of the most celebrated and notorious authors of the twentieth century.

This anthology offers a riveting exploration of the profound connection between substance abuse and artistic creativity. It includes chapters dedicated to literary figures such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tennessee Williams, Jack London, Anne Sexton, Jean Rhys, John Cheever, Marguerite Duras, Kingsley Amis, among others.

F. Scott Fitzgerald once imposed a rule on himself to restrict his alcohol consumption to just one glass of beer – but repeated this thirty times a day in an attempt to reduce his drinking. Dashiell Hammett’s excessive drinking led to a creative drought that spanned three decades, while John Cheever overcame a ten-year-long addiction to produce his most acclaimed novel.

Malcolm Lowry had no specific preference and would consume anything from gin to formaldehyde, while poet and housewife Anne Sexton never left home without a thermos filled with martinis. Kelly Boler, in her book Drinking Companion: Alcohol and the Lives of Writers, delves into the intricate relationship between alcohol and the lives and works of fifteen accomplished writers. These narratives, presented from various perspectives – fame and anonymity, glitz and despair, recovery and suicide, shame and audacity – provide valuable insights into the influence of alcohol on the personal lives of our most innovative artists.