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His concepts were a response to the things he saw. The author’s readers were quite eager to write to him and their letters helped Armistead refine his concepts.įor the most part, Armistead used the events that were happening in his society at that time to create ideas for stories. More importantly, he was able to use the relatively immediate feedback he got from readers to make adjustments to his storytelling. However, over the course of the serialization of the Tales of the City stories, he saw his writing abilities transform. The author believes that the serialized nature of his initial stories gave him the perfect platform to perfect his skills and ground his writing.Īrmistead Maupin has admitted to not being that impressive a writer when he started out. The Tales of the City series was praised for its realism when the books were first published in the 1970s. She gains priceless wisdom about the human condition and she uses it maneuver her life appropriately. She also watches as they support her and each other during difficult times, and she learns to do the same for them. She learns about all the demons that haunt them, the consequences of their past mistakes and the joys that make their lives tolerable. Most of the books are spent following Mary around as she gets to know her neighbors. Their personalities are somewhat exaggerated and they participate in the most ridiculous schemes, plans, and missions. Armistead Maupin’s characters are over the top. The Tales of the City series has been described as a soap opera and for a very good reason. She also explores San Francisco and gains a keen understanding of life and love. Mary gets to know her neighbors very well, but her exploits are not restricted to her apartment. They include a bisexual hippy and a personable gay fellow. Mary Ann Singleton proceeds to find an apartment at 28 Barbary Lane, paving the way for a life of adventure.īarbary Lane is a lively setting occupied by a litany of eccentric characters. The heroine initially sets out to only visit San Francisco but her experience is so impactful that she decides to stay. A young secretary in her twenties, Mary is pretty innocent and naïve when she leaves Cleveland, Ohio. The series centers on Mary Ann Singleton. It wasn’t until the fifth novel that Armistead began to produce original content designed for novelization purposes. The first four books in the Tales of the City series came about in this manner. While they were never breakout hits, they had enough of a following that it was eventually deemed necessary to collect them into full-length novels. The stories that Armistead Maupin wrote first made appearances in the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Examiner. The Tales of the City series began as serials in newspapers.

Tales of the City is a series of novels written by Armistead Maupin which tell the story of a young woman who moves to San Francisco and encounters drama and heartache.

28 barbary lane tales of the city books 1 3