The Grass Harp

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**Title** **The Grass Harp**

Author	Truman Capote
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Southern literature, Novel
Publisher	Vintage International
Released	1951
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
ISBN	ISBN 0-679-74557-2

The Grass Harp is a 1951 novel by Truman Capote.

The story focuses on an orphaned boy and two elderly ladies who observe life from a tree. They eventually leave their temporary retreat to make amends with each other and other members of society.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The story begins with Collin Fenwick losing his mother, and then his father, and moving into his aunts' (Dolly and Verena) house. Catherine, the servant, also lives in the house and gets along, for the most part, only with Dolly. One day, after an argument, Dolly, Collin, and Catherine leave their home and start walking. Along the way, they find the treehouse in the China tree, and decide to camp out there. Verena, meanwhile, informs the sheriff of her sister's disappearance; the Sheriff organizes a search party, and eventually arrests Catherine. During the course of the novel, others come to live in the treehouse, such as Judge Cool and Riley Henderson. In a climactic event, a confrontation among the search party and the residents of the tree house leads to Riley getting shot in the shoulder. After Judge Cool discusses the the situation, everyone agrees that it was a pointless struggle, and old relationships are invigorated once again. Many people leave as friends. The story ends with how a "grass harp, gathering, telling, a harp of voices remembering a story."

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Characters

Collin Fenwick - the orphaned sixteen year old boy who takes up residence in the China tree. He serves as both the protagonist and narrator of the novel.
Dolly Talbo - aunt of Collin; she also takes up residence in the tree.
Verena Talbo - sister of Dolly, she urges the Sheriff of the town to investigate the disappearance of her sister Dolly.
Morris Ritz - a man who marries Verena, but soon runs away with her money.
Catherine Creek a black servant, who runs away with Dolly and Collin, and also takes up residence in the China tree.
Riley Henderson a boy who becomes friends with Collin. He briefly takes up residence in the treehouse of the China tree.
Junius Candle - the Sheriff of the town; he is persistent in finding perpetrators and organizes a massive search party to find Collin and Dolly.
Judge Cool - considered the free thinker of the town, he helps Dolly and Verena come to terms with one another. He is the "wise man" of society, and in general, solves conflicts posed in the novella.

[edit] Literary significance & criticism

The New York Herald Tribune lauded the novel as "Remarkable...infused with a tender laughter, charming human warmth, [and] a feeling for the positive quality of life." The Atlantic Monthly commented that "The Grass Harp charms you into sharing the author's feeling that there is a special poetry - a spontaneity and wonder and delight - in lives untarnished by conformity and common sense."

[edit] Adaptations

1995 film poster

Capote's stage adaptation of his novel, directed by Robert Lewis, opened on March 27, 1952 at Broadway's Martin Beck Theatre, where it ran for 36 performances. The cast included Sterling Holloway, Mildred Natwick, Ruth Nelson, and Alice Pearce. [1]

After five previews, a 1971 musical adaptation, with a book and lyrics by Kenward Elmslie and music by Claibe Richardson, opened on November 2, 1971 at the Martin Beck, where it ran for only seven performances. The cast, directed by Ellis Rabb and Rhoda Levine, included Barbara Cook, Karen Morrow, and Max Showalter. [2]

In 1995, Stirling Silliphant adapted the novel for a feature film directed by Charles Matthau. The cast included Matthau's father Walter, Piper Laurie, Sissy Spacek, Edward Furlong, Nell Carter, Jack Lemmon, Mary Steenburgen, Sean Patrick Flanery, Joe Don Baker, Bonnie Bartlett and Charles Durning. [3]