The Grass Harp - Conception

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, a tin roof and was furnished inside with a rattan sofa. Capote would spend time in this tree house with his cousin Sook, or other childhood friends such as Nelle Harper Lee. The novel was additionally inspired by his cousin Sook's dropsy medicine, which she made yearly until the age of 62, and whose recipe she took with her to the grave, despite Jenny's wanting first to patent, and then to sell the recipe to a manufacturer.

The Grass Harp was entirely written while Capote vacationed in Taormina, Sicily. The last section was airmailed to the publishers just days after he finished his writing, but it was not published for four months because the Random House editors, specifically Bob Linscott, did not care for the ending of the novel. Specifically Linscott thought 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 he made some changes, but did not concede to completely rewrite the ending.

Truman Capote initially wanted to title the novel Music of the Sawgrass, but ultimately it was Bob Linscott who named it The Grass Harp.