John Berendt captivates readers with the eccentric inhabitants of Savannah, GA in ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil’. Hear John discuss his love for the unique city and how it inspired him write his Pulitzer Prize nominated novel telling the stories of many of the cities unique characters, leading up to an antique dealer on trial for the murder of a male prostitute.
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John Berendt
“Success exists within yourself when you think you’ve accomplished the deed you wanted to accomplish, and it exists outside. When people say to you, well done, that’s successful. We can have one without the other.”
The son of two writers, John Berendt grew up in Syracuse, New York. He earned a B.A. in English from Harvard University, where he worked on the staff of The Harvard Lampoon. After graduating in 1961, he moved to New York City to pursue a career in publishing. Berendt has written for David Frost and Dick Cavett, was editor of New York magazine from 1977 to 1979, and wrote a monthly column for Esquire from 1982 to 1994.
Berendt first traveled to Savannah in the early 1980s, when he realized that he could fly there for a three-day weekend for the price of “a paillard of veal served on a bed of wilted radicchio” [p. 24] in one of New York’s trendier restaurants. Over the ensuing eight years his visits became more frequent and extended, until he was spending more time in Savannah than in New York.
Part of the appeal, Berendt says, lay in the city’s penchant for morbid gossip: “People in Savannah don’t say, ‘Before leaving the room, Mrs. Jones put on her coat.’ Instead, they say, ‘Before leaving the room, Mrs. Jones put on the coat that her third husband gave her before he shot himself in the head.” (Entertainment Weekly, 3/11/94, p. 52)
Since the publication and unprecedented success of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Berendt has become a Savannah celebrity and was even presented with the key to the city. “I took it down to City Hall one night to see if it would work, but it didn’t.” (Syracuse Post Standard, 4/5/1994)
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Shots rang out in Savannah’s grandest mansion in the misty,early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. John Berendt’s sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative reads like a thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work of nonfiction. Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case.
It is a spellbinding story peopled by a gallery of remarkable characters: the well-bred society ladies of the Married Woman’s Card Club; the turbulent young redneck gigolo; the hapless recluse who owns a bottle of poison so powerful it could kill every man, woman, and child in Savannah; the aging and profane Southern belle who is the “soul of pampered self-absorption”; the uproariously funny black drag queen; the acerbic and arrogant antiques dealer; the sweet-talking, piano-playing con artist; young blacks dancing the minuet at the black debutante ball; and Minerva, the voodoo priestess who works her magic in the graveyard at midnight. These and other Savannahians act as a Greek chorus, with Berendt revealing the alliances, hostilities, and intrigues that thrive in a town where everyone knows everyone else.
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a sublime and seductive reading experience. Brilliantly conceived and masterfully written, this enormously engaging portrait of a most beguiling Southern city has become a modern classic.
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John Berendt is a renowned writer, journalist, editor and columnist who is best known for his international bestseller and Pulitzer Prize-nominated novel “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”. Growing up in Syracuse, New York, he earned a Bachelor’s degree in English from Harvard University. He moved to New York City in 1961 and quickly made a name for himself, becoming an associate editor at Esquire at the age of 21. He wrote a monthly column for the magazine for over ten years. He has also written for television shows such as The Dick Cavett Show and The David Frost Show. In “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”, Berendt took readers on a journey to Savannah, Georgia and shares stories of its’ unique and quirky residents.
The novel became a massive bestseller, being on the New York Times bestseller list for over 200 weeks. In addition, it became a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. John had no inkling it would do so well, and when asked how it was going, he said he thought people would enjoy it, but had no idea how it would be received. His publisher, however, was sure it would be a bestseller.
Since the publication and unprecedented success of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Berendt has become a Savannah celebrity. He was even presented with the key to the city. “I took it down to City Hall one night to see if it would work, but it didn’t.” (Syracuse Post Standard, 4/5/1994)
