Join us for a book talk on October 16 with author Liz Brown on The Twilight Man: Love and Ruin in the Shadows of Hollywood and the Clark Empire! With Justine Kurland as moderator, she’ll discuss this new novel about philanthropist and copper heir William Andrews Clark Jr. and his longtime lover Harrison Post, out now from Penguin Books Original. This event will take place at Scandinavia House in Volvo Hall at 4 PM ET and will also be live-streamed to virtual audiences; please check back here for broadcast details closer to the date.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Clark family was famous the country and world over for its vast wealth, attained through the infamous and corrupt “Copper King of Montana” William Andrews Clark Sr. One of the most well-known men in Los Angeles in the 1920s, his son William Andrews Clark Jr. was a generous benefactor of many of the city’s institutions, including the LA Philharmonic, the Hollywood Bowl, and the UCLA Clark Library (and interred in Hollywood Forever Cemetery’s Clark Mausoleum). But he also had many secrets — namely a longtime lover named Harrison Post, who, until now, was a shadowy and largely forgotten figure.
Written by William Andrews Clark Jr.’s great-grandniece Liz Brown through years of rigorous archival research, Twilight Man uncovers the fascinating life of Harrison Post, a former sales clerk whose illicit relationship with Clark ensconced him in a world of privilege and luxury from Gilded Age wealth to the early Hollywood film community — until Clark’s death in 1932, upon which he inherited a huge fortune that was soon taken from him in a tremendous betrayal.
Upended by the loss of his lover and livelihood, Post spent several years in the town of Hellesylt, Norway, before being incarcerated under the Nazi occupation; and later continued on to Mexico City — all in search of an inheritance that would ultimately destroy him. Twilight Man is an extraordinary story of untold queer history, love, and legacy — how it is shaped and preserved — and the tragedy of one man’s desperation to cling to a past that could not save him.
Brown and Kurland will discuss the novel and her discovery of Post’s story, as well as Post’s time spent in Norway and his devotion to the country. Registration is required for attendance at Scandinavia House; sign up at the link above. Details on watching the discussion virtually will be added here closer to the date.
“Twilight Man is biography, romance, and nonfiction mystery, carrying with it the bite of fiction.” — Los Angeles Review of Books
About the Author
Liz Brown has written for Bookforum, Elle Decor, London Review of Books, Los Angeles Times, New York Times Book Review, and other publications. She lives in Los Angeles.