as "the most alarming literary news of the year." Macdonald's review has been both credited with "eviscerating" Cozzens and blamed for having ruined Cozzens's career. It is still cited as one of the high points of Macdonald's career, and one of the best examples of a damning book review. Macdonald's review did not prevent the American Academy of Arts and Letters from awarding By Love Possessed the William Dean Howells Medal in 1960, for the most prestigious work of fiction in the last five years. However, the Commentary article itself became a significant part of American literary history, as it resulted in By Love Possessed being best known to many people from Macdonald's review. Publishing history New York: Harcourt Brace 1957. New York: Harcourt Brace 2nd printing for Book of the Month Club. New York: Harcourt Brace four additional printings. London: Longmans Green 1958 New York: Crest 1959. Paperback. Harmondsworth: Penguin 1960. Paperback New York: Harcourt Brace and World- Harvest paperback 1967. Awards William Dean Howells Medal, 1960 Sources James Gould Cozzens A Life Apart by Matthew J. Bruccoli. Harcourt Brace Jovanavitch 1983. New Acquist of True Experience edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli. Southern Illinois University Press 1973. The Novels of James Gould Cozzens by Frank Bracher. Harcourt Brace 1959. James Gould Cozzens - A Checklist compiled by James B. Merriwether. Detroit: Gale Research Company 1972. '"By Cozzens Possessed – A Review of Reviews" by Dwight MacDonald. Commentary. March 1958. "Return of the Repressed" by John Thompson. Commentary. September 1968. (This is a review of Morning, Noon and Night, Cozzens's final novel, but there is extensive discussion of the controversy.) References 1957 American novels American novels adapted into films Harcourt (publisher) books