SOURCE: "Seven Gothic Tales: The Divine Swank of Isak Dinesen," in The New York Times Book Review, February 23, 1986, pp. 3, 37.
Updike is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, short story writer, essayist, poet, dramatist, and critic. In the following essay, adapted from the "Introduction" to a special edition of Seven Gothic Tales published in honor of The Book-of-the-Month-Club's 60th anniversary, he presents an overview of Dinesen's life and discusses the main stylistic and thematic features of the collection.
