William Maxwell Biography

William Maxwell was an American novelist and fiction editor at The New Yorker. His acclaimed fiction, increasingly viewed as some of the most important of the 20th Century, frequently explores themes of childhood, family, loss, and lives quietly and irrevocably changed. Much of his work is autobiographical, particularly concerning the loss of his mother in childhood, which profoundly shaped his worldview. Maxwell's writing is characterized by a poignant reflection on life's transience and a deep, resonant sense of place.