Godwin, Gail (1937–)
Godwin, Gail (1937–)
American novelist. Born June 18, 1937, in Birmingham, Alabama; only child of Kathleen May (Krahenbuhl) Godwin (teacher and writer) and Mose Winston Godwin; raised by mother and grandmother in Asheville, NC; attended Peace Junior College, 1955–57; University of North Carolina, BA; University of Iowa, MA, 1968, PhD in English, 1971; m. Douglas Kennedy (photographer), c. 1962 (div. c. 1962); m. Ian Marshall (psychiatrist, div. 1966); lives with longtime companion Robert Starer (composer).
Began career as a journalist with the Miami Herald (1959); lived in England for 6 years, where she was eventually a travel consultant for the US Embassy in London (1963–69); attended Iowa Writer's Workshop and published thesis as The Perfectionists (1970); came to prominence with A Mother and Two Daughters (1982) and A Southern Family (1987); other works, which often focus on strong Southern women who seek freedom from feminine stereotypes, include Glass People (1972), The Odd Women (1974), Violet Clay (1978), The Finishing School (1985), Father Melancholy's Daughter (1991), The Good Husband (1994), and Evensong (1999). Received the Janet Heidiger Award and Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award.