James Ross (1911-1990) was an American fiction author. His only published book, They Don't Dance Much (1940), is an early example of what Daniel Woodrell identifies as "country noir", or a noir novel with a rural setting.[1]

Life

James Ross was born in rural Stanly County, North Carolina in 1911. He briefly worked as a writer for the Savannah Morning News and then for the Greensboro Daily News (now News & Record), covering North Carolina politics and legislation. He died in 1990.[1]

Ross's first novel was published in 1940. His follow-up novel, In The Red, was never published, and Ross turned to writing short fiction for magazines like Collier's, The Sewanee Review and Argosy. In 1970, he became a highly regarded literary agent, and 1975 saw the reissue of They Don’t Dance Much, which saw the book become truly popular for the first time.[2]

They Don't Dance Much

The novel is set in a Western North Carolina roadhouse in the fictional crossroads town of Corinth. It is narrated by a failed farmer who, upon taking a job at a filling station, becomes involved in a murder.

The novel, despite being praised by crime-fiction authors such as Raymond Chandler, William Gay, and Flannery O'Connor, has been largely forgotten.[1] In part, this is due to its tumultuous publication history; since its release, the book has been printed by five different publishers, most recently by Mysterious Press.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "ESSAY: James Ross :: Oxford American - The Southern Magazine of Good Writing". oxfordamerican.org. Archived from the original on July 24, 2014. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
  2. ↑ Mysterious Press - James Ross (with photograph)
  3. ↑ "New luster for a hard-boiled gem - The Washington Post". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
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