The Bloodied Nightgown and Other Essays

The Bloodied Nightgown and Other Essays is a 2024–2025 essay collection by Joan Acocella, gathering twenty‑four of her later‑career pieces along with an introduction centered on her lifelong preoccupations: life and art.

Acocella, long a critic at The New Yorker, ranges widely across literature, culture, and performance. The essays move from Tolkien’s Beowulf to Richard Pryor, from the Book of Job to the history of profanity, showcasing her signature blend of clarity, curiosity, and skepticism toward pretension. The volume includes 25 black‑and‑white images and spans 368–369 pages