Maupin, Armistead

(US, 1944– )

Armistead Maupin was born in Washington and educated at the University of North Carolina, but is best known for being the chronicler of the burgeoning gay culture of San Francisco in the 1970s. His first novel, Tales of the City (1978), began life as a series of sketches for the San Francisco Examiner concerning the ingénue Mary Ann Singleton; Mouse, the love-hungry gay protagonist; and the enigmatic landlady, Mrs Madrigal. Maupin's writing is dialogue-based, warm, and witty. There are five more novels in the Tales of the City series, including More Tales of the City (1980) and Further Tales of the City (1982). The later novels are written under shadow cast by the AIDS epidemic and are darker in tone. Maybe the Moon (1993) concerns a midget actress and the prejudices she encounters.

Alan Hollinghurst, Evelyn Waugh, Hanif Kureishi  SA