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''The Grass Harp'' is a novel by Truman Capote published on October 1, 1951〔Clarke, Gerald. ''Capote: A Biography'' (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988), page 224.〕 It tells the story of 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.〔Clarke, Gerald. ''Capote: A Biography'' (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988), page 219.〕 == Conception == Not wanting to take up his incomplete first novel, ''Summer Crossing'', Capote began writing ''The Grass Harp'' in June 1950 and completed it on May 27, 1951. The novel was inspired by memories of his Alabama childhood, specifically a tree house constructed in the 1930s in a large walnut tree in his cousin Jenny's backyard. This large tree house, accessible by an antique spiral staircase, featured cypress wood construction and a tin roof, and was furnished with a rattan sofa. Capote spent time in this tree house with his cousin Sook or other childhood friends such as Nelle Harper Lee.〔Rudisill, Marie & Simmons, James C. ''The Southern Haunting of Truman Capote'' (Nashville, Tennessee: Cumberland House, 2000), pages 92-94.〕 The novel was additionally inspired by his cousin Sook's dropsy medicine, which she made yearly until the age of 62. She took the recipe for it to the grave, despite Jenny's wanting first to patent the recipe and then to sell it to a manufacturer.〔Rudisill, Marie & Simmons, James C. ''The Southern Haunting of Truman Capote'' (Nashville, Tennessee: Cumberland House, 2000), pages 91&93.〕 Capote completed ''The Grass Harp'' while he was vacationing in Taormina, Sicily. The last section was airmailed to the publishers Random House just days after he finished writing it, but it was not published for four months because the editors, specifically Bob Linscott, did not care for the ending of the novel.〔Clarke, Gerald. ''Capote: A Biography'' (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988), pages 220-224.〕 Linscott thought that the ending was weak because, once the characters were up in the tree house, Capote "didn't know what to do with them." He asked Capote to rewrite the ending, and Capote made some changes in it, but he did not completely rewrite it.〔Rudisill, Marie & Simmons, James C. ''The Southern Haunting of Truman Capote'' (Nashville, Tennessee: Cumberland House, 2000), page 86.〕 Truman Capote initially wanted to title the novel ''Music of the Sawgrass''. It was Bob Linscott who gave it the title ''The Grass Harp.'' 〔Rudisill, Marie & Simmons, James C. ''The Southern Haunting of Truman Capote'' (Nashville, Tennessee: Cumberland House, 2000), page 86.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Grass Harp」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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