RIAMCO

Rhode Island Archival and Manuscript Collections Online

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Florence King papers (Ms.2016.001)

Brown University Library

Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI, 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Biographical/Historical Note

Florence Virginia King was born in Washington D.C. on January 5, 1936 and died in Fredericksburg, VA on January 6, 2016. Her parents were Louise Rudding King (American) and Herbert Frederick King (British). Miss King was an author, columnist, contributor and book critic. She was best known for her memoir “Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady" and the column “The Misanthrope’s Corner" which ran from 1991-2002 in the conservative National Review magazine.

Florence King did not embrace the cultural shift of inclusion. She was an outspoken, unapologetic voice against political correctness, feminism, and environmentalism. Her writings reflected her beliefs and sharp wit.

Miss King, as she preferred to be called, earned a bachelor’s degree in history from American University in 1957. She completed one year of graduate school at the University of Mississippi. Miss King was a history teacher for a short time in Suitland, MD. She embarked on a writing career in the 1960s and continued to write until shortly before her death. During her career, Miss King wrote articles, books, columns, and book reviews.

In her life she resided in various parts of the United States: Washington, D.C.; Raleigh, NC; Bayonne, NJ; New York, NY; Mattapoisett, MA; Richmond, VA; Seattle, WA; Bellevue, WA; and Fredericksburg, VA.

Bibliography

Early writings:

Raleigh News and Observer from 1964-1967

Pornography, under the pseudonym Veronica King, from 1969-1973

Romance, under the pseudonym Laura Buchanan, from 1973-1980

Books:

Southern Ladies and Gentlemen . Stein & Day, 1975

Wasp, Where is Thy Sting? . Stein & Day, 1977

He: An Irreverent Look at the American Male . Stein & Day, 1978

When Sisterhood was in Flower . Viking Press, 1982

Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady . St. Martin’s Press, 1985

Reflections of a Jaundiced Eye . St. Martin’s Press, 1989

Lump it or Leave it . St. Martin’s Press, 1991

With Charity Toward None . St. Martin’s Press, 1992

Columns:

The Misanthrope’s Corner column for the National Review, 1991-2002

The Bent Pin column for the National Review, 2006-2007, 2009-2012

Anthologies:

The Florence King Reader . St. Martin’s Press, 1995

STET, Damn It! collection from The Misanthrope’s Corner published by the National Review in 2003

Withering Slights collection from The Bent Pin published by the National Review in 2014.