David W. Dutton (1947-2021) was an author and residential designer who was born and raised in Milton, DE. He wrote two novels, several short stories, and eleven plays. His musical comedy, oh! Maggie, in collaboration with Martin Dusbiber, was produced by the Possum Point Players and the Lake Forest Drama Club. He wrote two musical reviews for the Possum Point Players: An Evening With Cole Porter, in collaboration with Marcia Faulkner, and With a Song in My Heart. He also wrote the one-act play, Why the Chicken Crossed the Road, commissioned and produced by the Delmarva Chicken Festival.
In 1997, David was awarded a fellowship as an established writer by the Delaware Arts Council. In 1998, he received a first-place award for his creative nonfiction by the Delaware Literary Connection. His piece, “Who is Nahnu Dugeye?” was subsequently published in the literary anthology, Terrains. David contributed short fiction for the DPP anthologies HALLOWEEN PARTY 2017, SOLSTICE (for which he also wrote the preface), EQUINOX, AURORA, WSOFIT, SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY, and HALLOWEEN PARTY 2019.
David’s third novel, ONE OF THE MADDING CROWD, was published in October 2018 by DPP. ONE OF THE MADDING CROWD was awarded novel of the year (adult fiction) in the 2019 Delaware Press Association Awards. This compelling novel is available for purchase now on Amazon today, or you can order a copy at the DPP online store.
David was interviewed about his writing many times, including on Delmarva Life, the NPR podcast, So, What’s Your Story, and the Delaware State of the Arts podcast.
David blogged @ WordPress, where you can see a novel that he was serializing. David lost his battle with multiple myeloma in June of 2021. We at DPP will greatly miss his kindness, warmth, and excellent writing.
REVIEWS FOR ONE OF THE MADDING CROWD
This book keeps you guessing. The chapters provide snippets of the characters and the plot as it goes along. It gives the reader an inside look at what goes on in a family that sees itself as the ‘norm,’ but is anything but that. The book answers the question of what it is like to be a member of a select group who believe they are above the rest of society, yet don’t realize they have the same issues as everyone else. The author transports us to a different time through the stilted perception of a privelaged child/teen/adult who knows only the life that is provided by those around him. A Southern-like undercurrent of surveillance pervades the scenes, and this undercurrent surfaces throughout the novel to demonstrate what it is to fulfill family and social requirements in order to be accepted.
David Dutton’s, “One of the Madding Crowd”, is a riveting tale of life and death in Martin’s Neck. This story is an emotional journey of pleasure and pain, laughter and tears, crime and justice. Through beautiful narration and compelling characters, Dutton shines a light into the darkest corners of suicide, rape, murder, terminal illness, and insanity. This book is powerful and well-worth the read.
It is so engrossing and compelling to read. This was a story I was sad to see end.
The novel went by in such a comfy and seamless manner that, as a reader, I found myself accepting and agreeing with some of the actions of the main character that should have shocked and upset me. But, no, I was complicit right along there with Marc Steadman. How did you do that to me David Dutton? I still don’t know.
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