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'''This article is about the novel series; see also [[Tales of the City (novel)]] and [[Tales of the City (TV miniseries)]]'' [[Image:TalesoftheCity-US 1st edition.jpg|thumb|United States first edition cover of the first book in the ''Tales of the City'' series]] '''''Tales of the City''''' is a series of eight novels written by American author [[Armistead Maupin]]. ''[[Tales of the City (novel)|Tales of the City]]'' is also the name of the first book in the series. The first four books in the series were originally serialized in the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' while the fifth book was serialized in the ''[[San Francisco Examiner]]''. In 1993 the first book was made into a television miniseries, ''[[Tales of the City (miniseries)|Tales of the City]],'' produced by [[Channel 4]] in the UK and screened by [[PBS]] in the U.S. in 1994. The second and third books in the series made their television debuts in 1998 and 2001. In a public reading at the [[Bloomsbury Theatre]] in London in July 2007, Maupin indicated that it is unlikely that there will be any further mini-series or films made. As well as the novels, Maupin has collaborated on several Tales-themed musical projects. ''Anna Madrigal Remembers'' was a musical work composed by [[Jake Heggie]] and performed by choir [[Chanticleer (ensemble)|Chanticleer]] and [[mezzo-soprano]] [[Frederica von Stade]] on 6 August 1999, for which Maupin provided a new libretto. He also participated in a concert series with Seattle Men's Chorus entitled ''Tunes From Tales (Music for Mouse)'', which included readings from his books and music from the era.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20031006120910/www.sgn.org/Archives/sgn.3.5.99/Arts/ "Seattle Men's Chorus welcomes Armistead Maupin to Benaroya Hall" - ''Seattle Gay News'' Online]</ref> In 2007, 18 years after the sixth novel in the series, ''[[Sure of You]],'' Maupin released the novel ''[[Michael Tolliver Lives]].'' Maupin originally stated that this novel is "NOT a sequel to ''Tales [of the City]'' and it's certainly not Book 7 in the series",<ref>[http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780060761356&itm=1 ''Michael Tolliver Lives'' - BarnesandNoble.com]</ref> however he later conceded that "I’ve stopped denying that this is book seven in ''Tales of the City'', as it clearly is ... I suppose I didn’t want people to be thrown by the change in the format, as this is a first person novel unlike the third person format of the ''Tales of the City'' books and it’s about one character who interrelates with other characters. Having said that, it is still very much a continuation of the saga and I think I realised it was very much time for me to come back to this territory." <ref>[http://www.pinkpaper.com/pinkpaper/life_etc.asp?s=&pos=2 "I might well come back to Mr Tolliver one more time" - PinkPaper.com] Issue 929, 28 June 2007</ref> Fans of the series were delighted to have a new chapter but ''[[Michael Tolliver Lives]]'' was criticized for its thinly veiled autobiographical nature and for being the work of a beloved author trying to remember how he did it first time round.<ref>[http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/generalfiction/0,,2099336,00.html "The City Slicker Loses His Way" - The Guardian, London]</ref> Maupin has written a new novel about the ''Tales of the City'' characters, commenting that "Whatever I have to offer seems to come through those characters, and I see no reason to abandon them." The new novel is set for release in North America on November 2, 2010 and is entitled "[http://www.harpercollinscatalogs.com/harper/527_1607_313639323930.htm#readmore Mary Ann in the Autumn]". It follows the character of Mary Ann Singleton, now at the unnerving age of 57, revisting San Francisco and taking stock of her mistakes. Soon, with the help of the Internet and a few old friends, she begins to reengage with life, only to confront fresh terrors when—out of the virtual blue—her speckled past comes back to haunt her in an unexpected way. Maupin sees the book as a return to the style of the earlier Tales books remarking, "It’s the format of my earlier Tales novel, a multi-character tapestry of interwoven storylines. My last novel, Michael Tolliver Lives, was a first-person narrative on a smaller scale. This one is third person and shifts among several people in Mary Ann’s orbit—like Michael’s husband, Ben, and Mary Ann’s estranged adoptive daughter, Shawna. There’s also Jake Greenleaf, Michael’s transgendered gardening assistant, who’s living with Anna Madrigal—yes, she’s still alive—and a number of others." <ref>[http://www.harpercollinscatalogs.com/TR/other/9780061470882_0_Extra_Behind_the_Book.pdf]</ref> ==Core characters== The series opens with the arrival of '''Mary Ann Singleton''', a naive young woman from Cleveland, Ohio. She finds an apartment at 28 Barbary Lane, the domain of the eccentric [[cannabis (drug)|marijuana]]-growing landlady '''Anna Madrigal'''. Mary Ann becomes friends with the other tenants of the building: the hippyish bisexual '''Mona Ramsey''' (who, though a central character, is not in all of the books); heterosexual lothario '''Brian Hawkins'''; the sinister and cagey roof tenant '''Norman Neal Williams'''; and '''Michael Tolliver''', a sweet and personable gay man known to friends as Mouse (as in Mickey Mouse), who becomes very important to the series. Beyond the house, lovers and friends guide Mary Ann through her San Franciscan adventures. '''Edgar Halcyon''', Mary Ann's and Mona's boss, Edgar's socialite daughter '''DeDe Halcyon-Day''', and her scheming bisexual husband '''Beauchamp Day''' all provide a glimpse into a more affluent Californian class, while Mrs. Madrigal's mother and owner of the Blue Moon Lodge brothel, '''Mother Mucca''', brings mystery and comic relief. Mona's ex-lover '''D'orothea Wilson''', returns from a modelling assignment in New York, while Michael's lover and DeDe's gynecologist, '''Jon Fielding''', becomes part of the social group. In the last two books of the original series, '''Thack Sweeney''' becomes Michael's lover. In both "Michael Tolliver lives" and "Mary Ann in Autumn", Mouse is in a relationship with a significantly younger man called Ben. In "Mary Ann...", Mouse and Ben have married in the short time frame between the Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage in California and the YES vote on Proposition 8. Real life people such as [[Jim Jones]] and a thinly veiled [[Elizabeth Taylor]] are mentioned in the story lines. A prominent closeted gay celebrity is represented as "______ ______" throughout the third novel, with sufficient detail available to deduce that it could be [[Rock Hudson]]. ==Realism in ''Tales''== [[Image:Macondray Lane 2.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Macondray Lane]], recast in the series as the fictional ''Barbary Lane'']] Because installments were published so soon after Maupin wrote them, he was able to incorporate many current events into the plot of the series, as well as gauge reader response and modify the story accordingly. At one point Maupin received a letter from a reader who pointed out that one of the characters' names was an anagram, providing Maupin with one of the more memorable and surprising plot twists in the book.<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2000/09/19/DD21405.DTL "ALL ABOUT ARMISTEAD" - SFGate.com] from 19 September 2000, retrieved 23 February 2008</ref> Maupin's books are also some of the first to deal with the [[AIDS]] epidemic. A 1977 ''[[Time (magazine)|TIME]]'' magazine article compared ''Tales of the City'' with similar serial novels that ran in other city newspapers, such as ''Tangled Lives'' (Boston), ''Bagtime'' (Chicago), and Hardee Mumms' ''Federal Triangle'' (Washington, DC).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,915212,00.html|title=The Press: Soap Operas Come to Print|publisher=''[[Time (magazine)|TIME]]''|date=August 8, 1977|accessdate=February 27, 2010}}</ref> == The complete series == * ''[[Tales of the City (novel)|Tales of the City]]'' ([[1978 in literature|1978]]) * ''[[More Tales of the City (novel)|More Tales of the City]]'' ([[1980 in literature|1980]]) * ''[[Further Tales of the City (novel)|Further Tales of the City]]'' ([[1982 in literature|1982]]) * ''[[Babycakes]]'' ([[1984 in literature|1984]]) * ''[[Significant Others (novel)|Significant Others]]'' ([[1987 in literature|1987]]) * ''[[Sure of You]]'' ([[1989 in literature|1989]]) * ''[[Michael Tolliver Lives]]'' ([[2007 in literature|2007]]) * ''[[Mary Ann in Autumn]]'' (2010) ''Sure of You,'' ''Michael Tolliver Lives'' and ''Mary Ann in Autumn'' are the only works to have been created solely as novels; the earlier books comprise writings that appeared in San Francisco newspapers prior to novelization. Characters from the ''Tales of the City'' series have appeared in supporting roles in Maupin's later novels ''Maybe The Moon'' and ''[[The Night Listener (novel)|The Night Listener]]''. ==Musical adaptation== With Maupin's cooperation, [[Tony Award]]-winning ''[[Avenue Q]]'' co-writer [[Jeff Whitty]], [[Scissor Sisters]] frontman [[Jake Shears]], and Sisters tour keyboardist [[John "JJ" Garden]] are writing a musical stage adaptation that will premiere at the [[American Conservatory Theater]] in 2011.{{citation needed|date=November 2010}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== {{wikiquote}} *[http://www.armisteadmaupin.com/ ArmisteadMaupin.com] - official website * [http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/133_wbc_archive_new/page4.shtml Armistead Maupin discusses ''Tales of the City''] on the BBC ''[[World Book Club]]'' *[http://www.barbarylanesenior.com/community_Welcome.html Barbary Lane Senior Communities] - retirement homes for LGBT people named after the setting of ''Tales''; Introduction by Armistead Maupin {{Maupin}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Tales Of The City}} [[Category:LGBT literature in the United States]] [[Category:San Francisco, California in fiction]] [[Category:Comedy novels]] [[Category:American novels by series]] [[Category:Tales of the City]] [[de:Stadtgeschichten]] [[fr:Les Chroniques de San Francisco (cycle)]] Ryan Murdoch is said the inspiration of Maupin's writing. His long lost son, that he tried to run away from.'