John Cheever was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, on May 27, 1912. He attended the private Thayer Academy but was expelled before graduating, an experience that became the basis for his first story, "Expelled," in 1930. Cheever subsequently pursued a writing career, contributing work to various publications, including The Atlantic, The Yale Review, and The New Yorker. During this period, he supported himself with odd jobs, including writing book synopses for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio. In 1941 he married Mary M. Winternitz, with whom he eventually had three children.

Cheever served for four years in the army during World War II, and it was during this time that he had his first book of fiction, The Way Some People Live published. After the war, Cheever found work as a scriptwriter, producing scripts for television series including Life with Father. Cheever also began teaching after the war, and during the course of...