The publisher of a new, best-selling Philip Roth biography has temporarily halted shipping and promotion of the book as the author, Blake Bailey, faces several allegations of sexual harassment and abuse of women who were formerly his high school students.
“These allegations are serious. In light of this, we have decided to interrupt Philip Roth’s dispatch and promotion: the biography is awaiting further information, “Bailey’s US publisher WW Norton said in a statement to the Associated Press on Wednesday. Its British publisher, Penguin Random House, has been contacted for comment.
Bailey was a teacher at Lusher Middle School in New Orleans in the 1990s. Numerous alumni have recently claimed that Bailey was inappropriate and manipulative behavior while he was their teacher, claiming that he ‘cared’ for them, and then had sexual relations with them shortly after their studies. One former student, Eve Crawford Peyton, also accused him of raping her at the age of 22, in an interview with the Times Picayune / New Orleans Advocate.
In a letter quoted by the LA Times, Peyton writes: “For decades, these stories have been whispered or shared by alumni over a glass of wine, which everyone thought was the only one. His behavior was something of an open secret, and it absolutely followed a pattern and was taking care of textbooks, but no one ever said anything … To be honest, he never did anything back then, not even in the eighth grade. But he laid the foundation. With dirty jokes, cunning comments, hugs that lasted a little too long, we were encouraged to share our personal lives as soon as we went to high school (‘Write to me about your latest slap-and-tick’). ”
Bailey, whose works include biographies of John Cheever, Richard Yates and Charles Jackson, has denied all wrongdoing. In response to allegations made by four alumni, including Peyton, his lawyer told the Times Picayune / New Orleans Advocate: “Mr. Bailey has never acted improperly with any student and has never received more than complaints about his time in Lusher 20 years ago … It is absurd to indicate that many years later he cared for students as caring encounters as adults. The allegations in your email are false, hurtful descriptions of adult behavior. Mr. Bailey has never treated a woman inappropriately and also never forced himself on a woman. ‘
A Lusher spokesman confirmed that for about nine years, in 1992, Bailey had no complaints of inappropriate behavior during schooling.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that Bailey had been abandoned by his literary agency, the Story Factory. The agency told the LA Times that the relationship ended “immediately after we heard of the disturbing allegations”.
Bailey’s book, which was released in early April, was one of the most anticipated literary biographies in recent years and appeared on the bestseller lists. In Bailey’s words, much of the review focused on Roth’s ‘breathtaking tastelessness towards women’.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.