Originally published in the mid-1940s, Old Mr. Flood is Joseph Mitchell’s story of retired house wrecker Hugh G. Flood, a New Yorker determined to live to the age of 115 on a diet of fresh seafood, harbor air, and good Scotch. Mitchell created an unforgettable character in these stories of fish-eating, whiskey, death, and rebirth by combining aspects of several men who worked at or frequented Manhattan’s famed Fulton Fish Market along the East River.

About Joseph Mitchell

Reporter Joseph Mitchell, regarded by many as one of the finest writers of the twentieth century, pioneered an honest, colorful and declarative style of journalism while writing brilliant magazine pieces for the New Yorker until his death in 1996.

In 1992, most of his New Yorker pieces were collected in a New York Times best-seller omnibus titled Up in the Old Hotel and Other Stories, introducing his masterful craftsmanship and storytelling technique to a new generation of readers.