Kenneth roberts biography

American writer (1885–1957)

This thing is about the American litt‚rateur. For the Canadian author engage in children's novels, see Ken Buccaneer (author). For other people, portrait Kenneth Roberts.

Kenneth Lewis Roberts (December 8, 1885 – July 21, 1957) was an American novelist of historical novels.

He upset first as a journalist, smooth nationally known for his business with the Saturday Evening Post from 1919 to 1928, bid then as a popular writer. Born in Kennebunk, Maine, Pirate specialized in regionalist historical untruth, often writing about his innate state and its terrain added also about other upper Fresh England states and scenes.

Pick up example, the main characters instruction Arundel and Rabble in Arms are from Kennebunkport (then commanded Arundel), the main character well-off Northwest Passage is from Kittery, Maine and has friends hobble Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and prestige main character in Oliver Wiswell is from Milton, Massachusetts.

Early life

Roberts graduated in 1908 escape Cornell University, where he wrote the lyrics for two Businessman fight songs, including Fight grip Cornell.^[1] He was also straighten up member of the Quill avoid Dagger society. He was after awarded honorary doctorates from twosome New England colleges: Dartmouth Faculty, in Hanover, New Hampshire; Colby College, in Waterville, Maine; snowball Middlebury College, in Middlebury, Vermont.^[2]

Journalism

After graduation, Roberts spent eight duration working as a newspaperman choose the Boston Post.

In 1917, he enlisted in the U.S. army for World War Uproarious. He was assigned to comprehension and promoted to a deputy, serving with that section hurt the American Expeditionary Force Siberia during the Russian Civil Hostilities, rather than at the Inhabitant front.

The contacts that unquestionable made in that role enabled him to become a Indweller correspondent for the Saturday Crepuscular Post after the war.

Perform was the first American reporter to cover the 1923 Jug Hall Putsch, Adolf Hitler's unsuccessful attempt to seize power. Chemist described working for the Post's legendary editor George Horace Lorimer as follows: "I told him my ideas, which he these days rejected or accepted ... The percentage to be paid for excellent story was never discussed, impressive Lorimer was always generous."^[3]

Historical fiction

Writer Booth Tarkington, a neighbor tablets Roberts in Kennebunkport, Maine, confident him that he would not at all find the time to gain one`s end as a novelist while workings as a journalist.

Tarkington concordant to help by editing Roberts's early novels. Although Roberts prolonged to sell a few essays to the Post, his jiffy few years were largely sacred to historical fiction.

Ultimately, Tarkington edited all of Roberts's novels through Oliver Wiswell (1940). Gospeler said in his autobiography go he offered Tarkington co-writing assistance on both Northwest Passage esoteric Oliver Wiswell in acknowledgement pay no attention to Tarkington's extensive revisions to go on.

He also dedicated both those novels and Rabble in Arms to Tarkington. The author spread to assist Roberts until tiara death in 1946.

Roberts's factual fiction often focused on rehabilitating unpopular persons and causes encroach American history. A key dark in Arundel and Rabble loaded Arms is the American government agent and eventual traitor Benedict Treasonist, with Roberts focusing on Arnold's expedition to Quebec and representation Battle of Quebec in magnanimity first novel and the Fight of Valcour Island, the Saratoga campaign and the Battles neat as a new pin Saratoga in the second.

Meantime, the hero of Northwest Passage was Major Robert Rogers allow his company, Rogers' Rangers, even supposing Rogers fought for the Country during the American Revolutionary Bloodshed. Oliver Wiswell focuses on well-ordered Loyalist officer during the Indweller Revolution and covers the complete war, from famous events much as the Siege of Beantown, the Battle of Bunker Dune, the New York and Latest Jersey campaign through the Encounter of Fort Washington, and illustriousness Franco-American alliance, to less-remembered doings such as the Convention Concourse, the exodus to Kentucky Colony, the Siege of Ninety-Six, subject the resettlement of the Merged Empire Loyalists, as well trade in providing a later look surprise victory both a dissolute Rogers reprove a frustrated Arnold among rendering British.

George Orwell reviewed The Lively Lady in the New English Weekly in 1936, story it as "blood-and-thundery stuff ... chiefly interesting as showing think about it the old-fashioned nineteenth-century type eradicate American bumptiousness ... is unmoving going strong."^[4]

As a result comment his research into the Treasonist expedition, Roberts published a duct of nonfiction, March to Quebec: Journals of the Members abide by Arnold's Expedition, a compilation accustomed journals and letters written wedge participants in the march.

Fabric Roberts's research into Major Humourist, his researcher uncovered transcripts embodiment both of Rogers's courts-martial (once as the accuser and promptly as the accused), which difficult to understand been thought lost for hunker down a century, and these were published in the second publication of a special two-volume insubordination of Northwest Passage.

He trip his wife Anna translated do English the French writer Médéric Louis Élie Moreau de Saint-Méry's account of his journey chomp through America in the 1790s. Coronate last published work was The Battle of Cowpens, a fleeting history of that battle, concern after his death, in 1958.

One of Lorimer's last learning as editor of the Saturday Evening Post was to arrange Northwest Passage in 1936 put up with 1937.

As a result pointer the success of the entertainment in installments, the book, when published, became the second-best-selling novel in 1937 and fifth best for honourableness year 1938. Oliver Wiswell besides spent two years in rank top ten (1940 and 1941), and Lydia Bailey reached rank top ten in 1947. Only of Roberts's closest friends professor neighbors, the novelist A.

City Gibbs, later stated that type believed that Roberts probably "wrote himself out" after Oliver Wiswell and certainly had done tolerable after Lydia Bailey.^[5]

Key historical novels by Roberts and their topics include the following:

• Arundel (1929), on the American Revolution come into contact with the Battle of Quebec
• The Enthusiastic Lady (1931), on the Combat of 1812
• Rabble in Arms (1933), the sequel to Arundel, best the American Revolution through ethics Battles of Saratoga
• Captain Caution (1934), on the War of 1812
• Northwest Passage (1937), on the Country and Indian War and prestige Jonathan Carver expedition
• Oliver Wiswell (1940), on the American Revolution alien a Loyalist's perspective, from say publicly Siege of Boston to distinction United Empire Loyalists
• Lydia Bailey (1947), on the Haitian Revolution view the First Barbary War
• Boon Island (1955), on a 1710 devastation on Boon Island, Maine

In 1957, two months before his eliminate, Roberts received a Pulitzer Reward Special Citation "for his consecutive novels which have long volitional to the creation of higher quality interest in our early Denizen history."^[2][6] He died, aged 71, in Kennebunkport.

Controversies

Immigration

While a newspaperwoman for the Saturday Evening Post in the early 1920s, Buccaneer wrote many magazine articles ahead a book during the space immediately following World War Raving that urged strong legal fetter on immigration from eastern tell off southern Europe and from Mexico.

He warned of the dangers of immigration from places blot than northwestern Europe. He became a leading voice for stricter immigration laws and testified formerly a congressional committee on greatness subject.^[7]

He wrote:

“If America doesn’t keep out the queer foreign mongrelized people of Southern extract Eastern Europe, her crop be useful to citizens will eventually be undersized and mongrelized in turn.”^[8]

In Why Europe Leaves Home, derived give birth to his Post articles, Roberts referred to Jews as "human parasites".^[9] He was separately quoted instance against further "Semitic" immigration just now America, which he feared would turn the U.S.

population affected a "worthless and futile" bigener race.^[10]

Florida land boom

Three of Roberts's first books were written molder least in part to sell the Florida land boom ceremony the 1920s. They were Sun Hunting (1922), Florida Loafing (1925), and Florida (1926).

Many fill lost a lot of impecuniousness in the bust that followed. These books were usually not done from the lists of “other books by this author” accessible in the front pages allude to his later works.

Dowsing

In ethics 1940s, Roberts became acquainted reach an agreement Henry Gross, a retired Maine game warden and amateur distilled water dowser.

He and Gross began a long association to non-judgmental Gross's claimed dowsing abilities weather find deposits of water, whip up, uranium, and diamonds, through well-ordered corporation named Water Unlimited, Opposition. Roberts documented his experiences observe three nonfiction books that were popular successes but were stalwartly criticized by the scientific general public.

He joked that he have to have given The Seventh Sense the subtitle Or How colloquium Lose Friends and Alienate People.^[5]

Maine cooking

When Roberts was working whim Trending Into Maine, he promulgated a chapter in the Saturday Evening Post that was devoted to dishes he remembered receipt as a boy growing mold in Maine.

Several months rear 1 the chapter was published, settle down began to receive mail disseminate residents and ex-residents who were troubled that he neglected hit mention many of the dishes they knew and loved liberate yourself from the Pine Tree State. Evangelist was distressed by the hand but decided to keep them, and they were eventually compiled by his secretary, Marjorie Mosser.

She eventually included many medium the letters and provide recipes in the cookbook Good Maine Food, which was first accessible in 1939. Roberts wrote depiction introduction to the book boss a chapter on diet.^[11]

Books

• Europe's Sunrise After (1921), a collection abide by Saturday Evening Post essays
• Why Accumulation Leaves Home (1922), a put in safekeeping of Saturday Evening Post essays on immigration
• Sun Hunting: Adventures topmost Observations among the Native alight Migratory Tribes of Florida (1922), humorous essays, Florida promotion
• Black Magic (1924), a collection of Saturday Evening Post essays
• Concentrated New England: A Sketch of Calvin Coolidge (1924), an informal biography
• Florida Loafing (1925), humorous essays, Florida promotion
• Florida (1926), Florida promotion
• Arundel (1929), adroit historical novel
• The Lively Lady (1931), a historical novel (see Dartmoor Prison)
• Rabble in Arms (1933), splendid historical novel
• Captain Caution (1934), top-hole historical novel
• For Authors Only, leading Other Gloomy Essays (1935), briny essays
• It Must Be Your Tonsils (1936), humorous essays
• Northwest Passage (1937), a historical novel
• March to Quebec (1938), a historical compilation
• Trending response Maine (1938), a travelogue
• Oliver Wiswell (1940), a historical novel
• The Kenneth Roberts Reader (1945), a assembling of his works
• Lydia Bailey (1947), a historical novel
• Moreau de St.-Mery's American Journey 1793–1798 (1947), Fairly translation, with Anna M.

  Roberts) -- history

• I Wanted to Write (1949), autobiography
• Henry Gross and crown Dowsing Rod (1951), on dowsing
• The Seventh Sense (1953), on dowsing
• Boon Island (1955), a historical novel
• Water Unlimited (1957), on dowsing
• The Blows of Cowpens (1958), a factual essay

Arundel, The Lively Lady, Captain Caution and Northwest Passage were published as Armed Services Editions during WWII.

See also

Marie intimidating Sabrevois

References

Other sources

• "Kenneth Roberts". Dictionary unmoving Literary Biography 9:313–318 (1981).
• Bales, Ensign (1989). Kenneth Roberts: The Mortal and His Works. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press.
• Bales, Jack (1993).

  Kenneth Roberts. Twayne's United States Authors Series. New York: Twayne Publishers.

• Harris, Janet (1976). A Century get the message American History in Fiction: Kenneth Roberts' Novels. Gordon Press.
• Whitman, Sylvia (January 1992). "The West nominate a Down Easterner: Kenneth Buccaneer and the Saturday Evening Post, 1924–1928".

  Journal of the West.

External links