James Purdy is reluctant to talk about his early years beyond acknowledging that he was born in rural Ohio on 17 July 1923 and grew up in the Midwest, which has been the setting of several of his novels. He aspired to be an artist, and he has illustrated several of his own books. He has studied at the University of Chicago, the University of Puebla in Mexico, and the University of Madrid. Before deciding to devote himself to the writings that began to appear when he was in his thirties, Purdy lived in Cuba and taught Spanish. Though he travels occasionally, he has spent the last twenty years principally in Brooklyn Heights, a restored district along the East River in New York that is the setting of some scenes in Cabot Wright Begins.

His first two books, privately printed--a collection of short stories, Don't Call Me by My Right...