The Flaming Corsage by William Kennedy
"The Flaming Corsage" by William Kennedy is a novel that intertwines the lives of its characters within the historical context of Albany, New York, spanning from 1885 to 1908. The story begins dramatically with the "Love Nest Killings of 1908," where a cuckolded husband kills his wife and shoots the protagonist, Edward Daugherty, before taking his own life. Following this explosive opening, the narrative shifts back in time to explore Daugherty's tumultuous relationship with Katrina Taylor, set against a backdrop of class conflict between their families. Edward, hailing from a working-class Irish Catholic background, marries Katrina, a member of Albany’s affluent English-Dutch Episcopalian society, despite familial opposition.
The couple's marriage becomes increasingly fraught, culminating in a tragic dinner party at the Delavan House Hotel that ends in a devastating fire, resulting in significant losses for Katrina’s family. This pivotal moment, where a flaming splinter pierces Katrina’s corsage, serves as the novel’s symbolic centerpiece. As the story unfolds, both Edward and Katrina engage in extramarital affairs, further complicating their lives. Kennedy’s narrative expertly marries elements of tragedy and dark humor while paying homage to the complexities of personal and communal histories. The novel is noted for its stylistic nuances, blending Kennedy's earlier and more mature writing, and features one of his most compelling characters, Katrina Taylor Daugherty.
The Flaming Corsage by William Kennedy
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 1996
Type of work: Novel
The Work
The Flaming Corsage begins with the “Love Nest Killings of 1908.” A cuckolded husband enters a Manhattan hotel suite; shoots his wife through the heart, killing her; fires two shots at Edward Daugherty, the novel’s protagonist, hitting him with one; sends Daugherty’s mistress scampering into the bedroom to hide; and kills himself by putting the revolver under his chin and pulling the trigger. Our initial reaction is that William Kennedy has left Albany behind and opted instead to tell a story that takes place in the more famous neighboring city to the south. After this brief and explosive opening, though, the novel moves backward in time to September, 1885, and readers have returned to Kennedy’s Albany.
Kennedy then introduces Edward Daugherty and Katrina Taylor, characters who should be familiar to enthusiastic readers of the Albany cycle. Edward, born to working-class Irish Catholic parents from North Albany, pursues and wins the hand of Katrina, the daughter of wealthy English-Dutch Episcopalians who are part of Albany’s ruling class. The class difference proves to be problematic, as both Katrina’s and Edward’s families reject their relationship. Eventually, though, Edward and Katrina are married, much to the chagrin of their parents, and their passionate and turbulent marriage is at the center of the novel.
Edward wins popularity as a playwright and sets out to heal the rift between the Daugherty and Taylor families. Eight years into his marriage, he hosts a dinner party at the Delavan House Hotel that brings the feuding families together. As a sort of peace offering, he presents Mr. Taylor with the ownership papers for a racehorse named Gallant Warrior, and he gives Mrs. Taylor a fur coat. Unexpectedly, though, the dinner party is interrupted when the maître d’ calmly announces that the hotel is on fire. A mad rush to get out of the place ensues, and the evening ends in tragedy. Eventually, the fire takes the lives of Katrina’s father and sister, and Katrina herself is seriously injured, as her breast is pierced by a flaming splinter following a dramatic elevator collapse that sends flames and embers shooting into the billiard room where the families are trapped. It is this defining moment that gives the novel its title, as the splinter cuts through Katrina’s corsage of violets, causing the corsage and her gown to go up in flames. From there, things gets worse. Katrina recovers, and she has an affair with young Francis Phelan, the protagonist of Ironweed. Edward also takes a mistress, a young actress, and these events, mixed with a variety of other tragic happenings, send readers hurtling headlong toward the Manhattan hotel suite in 1908 where Edward is shot and wounded.
The novel spans twenty-eight years, and Kennedy brilliantly fills in blank spaces from his previous stories, completing his dark and theatrical vision of Albany and the public and private histories of generations upon generations of its inhabitants. Most impressive, The Flaming Corsage is a successful marriage of Kennedy’s early and middle-era styles mixed with more mature elements. The four-year hiatus between Very Old Bones and The Flaming Corsage seemed to serve him well. Here, Kennedy gives his readers a book that is part-Ironweed, part-Quinn’s Book, part prose poem, and part theatrical tragedy. Katrina Taylor Daugherty is certainly one of his finest inventions, and his mastery of the art of novel-writing is evidenced by his ability to shift back and forth in time in the mode of William Faulkner without sacrificing the soul of the story.
Sources for Further Study
America. CLXXV, September 14, 1996, p. 28.
Boston Globe. May 12, 1996, p. B38.
Chicago Tribune. June 16, 1996, XIV, p. 3.
Commonweal. CXXIII, September 13, 1996, p. 36.
Library Journal. CXXI, April 15, 1996, p. 52.
Los Angeles Times Book Review. July 14, 1996, p. 6.
The New York Times. May 2, 1996, p. C19.
The New York Times Book Review. CI, May 19, 1996, p. 7.
Publishers Weekly. CCXLIII, March 4, 1996, p. 52.
San Francisco Chronicle. May 5, 1996, p. REV1.
Time. CXLVII, May 13, 1996, p. 92.
The Washington Post. April 26, 1996, p. B2.