Edward Everett Tanner III (18 May 1921 – 6 November 1976), known by the pseudonym Patrick Dennis, was an American author. His novel Auntie Mame: An irreverent escapade (1955) was one of the bestselling American books of the 20th century. In chronological vignettes, the narrator — also named Patrick — recalls his adventures growing up under the wing of his madcap aunt, Mame Dennis. Dennis wrote a sequel, titled Around the World with Auntie Mame, in 1958. Dennis based the character of Mame Dennis on his father's sister, Marion Tanner. Dennis also wrote several novels under the pseudonym Virginia Rowans. "I write in the first person, but it is all fictional. The public assumes that what seems fictional is fact; so the way for me to be inventive is to seem factual but be fictional." All of Dennis's novels employ to some degree the traditional comic devices of masks, subterfuge and deception. Early life Dennis was born Edward Everett Tanner III in Chicago, Illinois to Edward Everett Tanner II and Florence (née Thacker) Tanner, and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. He had one sister, Barbara, later Mrs. Hastings. His father nicknamed him Pat before he was born after the Irish heavyweight boxer Pat Sweeney, "a dirty fighter known for kicking his opponents." When he was old enough to say so, he let it be known that he liked Pat better than Edward, and so Pat he became. He attended Evanston Township High School, where he was popular and excelled in writing and theater. Career In 1942, he joined the American Field Service, working as an ambulance driver in North Africa and the Middle East. The first edition of Auntie Mame spent 112 weeks on the bestseller list, selling more than 2 million copies in five languages. The manuscript was turned down by 15 publishers before being accepted by the Vanguard Press. Dennis and a friend marketed the book to the booksellers. At the height of its popularity, it was selling more than 1,000 copies per day; throughout 1955 and 1956, it sold between 1,000 and 5,000 per week. In 1956, with Auntie Mame, The Loving Couple: His (and Her) Story, and Guestward Ho!, Dennis became the first writer to have three books on the New York Times bestseller list at the same time. Working with longtime friend, actor and photographer Cris Alexander, Dennis created two parody memoirs, complete with elaborate