James Patrick Donleavy was born in New York in 1926, both parents having immigrated from Ireland. Donleavy's first novel, THE GINGER MAN, did indeed make him famous, but it took years to complete and years more to get published, many would-be publishers praising its artistic qualities but fearing legal and moral backlash for its (at the time) explicit sexual content. Donleavy is an accomplished playwright, several of his stories being adapted for the stage and being performed by major companies in the US and Europe.
