By Love Possessed (novel) - The Controversy

The Controversy

By Love Possessed was an immediate commercial and critical success. It was on the The New York Times Best Seller list for 34 weeks, holding the number two position below Peyton Place and then number 1 for several months, before being displaced by Anatomy of a Murder. Over 500,000 copies were initially sold. The Readers Digest Condensed version sold over 3,000,000.

Initial reviews were overwhelmingly favorable. However, there was a reaction to the book itself; the extent of the positive reviews and a TIME cover story about Cozzens' “The Hermit of Lambertville”. Cozzens was criticized for the denseness of his style and unrealism in conversations. He was also criticized for being an upholder of "the Establishment", and having a pessimistic view of human potential. There is little dispute about having those viewpoints. He was also criticized as a bigot.

At one point in the book, Noah refers to “Jew lawyer tricks,” and another character defends the previous generation’s attitude towards Jews. Julius Penrose’s extended disquisition on Catholicism, and the absurdity of Marjorie’s friend named Mrs. Pratt (her explanation of "things" to Arthur) both led to charges of anti-Catholicism. There was also more than a hint of a condescending attitude towards African-Americans, represented in the Revere family, which had provided servants to only the “best families” in town for generations. The charge of anti-Semitism was the strongest, and was reinforced by the most critical article on the book appearing in Commentary. Cozzens' defenders point out that Cozzens, far from being discriminatory, had a fairly low opinion of the entire human race. They also point out that the only person he was close to was his wife, who was Jewish.

Dwight Macdonald’s Commentary article—“By Cozzens Possessed, a Review of Reviews”—started the critical firestorm. McDonald characterized the success of By Love Possessed as “the most alarming literary news of the year.” Macdonald’s review has been credited with “eviscerating” Cozzens, and ruining his career. It is still cited as one of the high points of Macdonald’s career, and one of the best examples of a damning book review. Macdonald’s review did not prevent the American Academy of Arts and Letters from awarding By Love Possessed the prestigious William Dean Howells Medal in 1960, for the most prestigious work of fiction in the last five years. However, the Commentary article itself became a significant part of American literary history. For many, By Love Possessed is best known from Macdonald’s review.