Time.news – The author of Philip Roth’s biography, one of the most anticipated books on the US literary scene in 2021, is accused of sexual harassment and the publishing house has decided to suspend its promotion. Several women recently accused the author, Blake Bailey, of having harassed or sexually assaulted them: the testimonies came from former students of the time when she taught in a New Orleans college in the 90s.
Three women told the Times-Picayune newspaper in Louisiana that they remained in contact even as adults with Bailey, who would take advantage of the established trust to start sexual adventures. One of them accused him of rape. Other testimonies evoke inappropriate behavior on social networks.
His agency, The Story Factory, confirmed to AFP “that it had stopped representing him” immediately after being informed of the allegations against Bailey, starting Sunday. Yesterday its publisher, WW Norton, made it known that deliveries of the book, simply titled “Philip Roth: The Biography”, published on April 6, would be suspended. “We have decided to suspend deliveries and promotion” of the biography, said a spokesman for the publisher, who called the allegations “serious”, cited by several American media.
On Wednesday the book was still available on Amazon and sold in the literary criticism category. Bailey, 57, “flatly denied the allegations” against him. The biography of the late Philip Roth, one of the greatest contemporary American authors, who passed away in May 2018, was presented as one of the most anticipated books of 2021 and acclaimed by American critics.
The New York Times Book Review had notably qualified the work, of approx 900 pages, like a “narrative masterpiece”. Already known for his work on writers John Cheever and Richard Yates, Blake Bailey had benefited from the collaboration of Philip Roth and almost unlimited access to his personal archives.