Robert Gruntal Nathan (January 2, 1894 – May 25, 1985) was an American novelist and poet.

Biography

Nathan was born into a prominent

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Sephardic Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

Jewish family. He was educated privately in Switzerland and attended Philips Exeter Academy, then entered

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1912. It was there that his short fiction and poetry was first published, in the prestigious literary magazine, the ''

Harvard Monthly Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

'', where he also became an editor. However, he never graduated, choosing instead to drop out and take a job at an advertising firm to support his family (he married while a junior at Harvard). It was while working in 1919 that he wrote his first novel—the semi-autobiographical work ''Peter Kindred''—which was a critical failure. But his luck soon changed during the 1920s, when he wrote seven more novels, including ''The Bishop's Wife'', which was later made into a successful

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

under the same title starring

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English and American actor. Known for his blended British and American accent, debonair demeanor, lighthearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he ...

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was an English actor, soldier, raconteur, memoirist and novelist. Niven was known as a handsome and debonair leading man in Classic Hollywood films. His accolades include an Academ ...

, and

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Michaela Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1989. She received numerous honors including an Academy Awards ...

in 1947. During the 1930s, his success continued with more works, including fictional pieces and poetry. His 1933 novel ''One More Spring'' was filmed in 1935. In 1940, he wrote his most successful book, ''

Portrait of Jennie ''Portrait of Jennie'' (also released under the title ''Tidal Wave'') is a 1948 American supernatural film directed by William Dieterle, produced by David O. Selznick, and starring Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ethel Barrymore, and Lillian ...

'', about a Depression-era artist and the woman he is painting, who is slipping through time. ''Portrait of Jennie'' is considered a modern masterpiece of fantasy fiction and was made into a

, starring

Jennifer Jones Jennifer Jones (born Phylis Lee Isley; March 2, 1919 – December 17, 2009), also known as Jennifer Jones Simon, was an American actress and mental-health advocate. Over the course of her career that spanned more than five decades, she was nomin ...

and

Joseph Cotten Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of '' The Philadelphia Story'' (1939) an ...

. In 1942 Nathan wrote a poem "Dunkirk: A Ballad", then became a screenwriter for

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

, where he added additional poetry to update

Alice Duer Miller Alice Duer Miller (July 28, 1874 – August 22, 1942) was an American writer whose poetry actively influenced political opinion. Her feminist verses influenced political opinion during the Women's suffrage in the United States, American suffrage ...

's poem for the film ''

The White Cliffs of Dover The White Cliffs of Dover are the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, which reaches a height of , owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint, depos ...

'' (1944). He then wrote the screenplay of '' The Clock'' (1945), in which he had a cameo role. His screenplay for ''

3 Godfathers ''3 Godfathers'' is a 1948 American Western film in Technicolor directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz and Harry Carey Jr. The screenplay was written by Frank S. Nugent and Laurence Stallings based on the 1913 nove ...

'' (1948) was rejected, but he made contributions to the screenplay of '' Pagan Love Song'' (1950). In January 1956 the author wrote, as well as narrated, an episode of the ''

CBS Radio Workshop ''The CBS Radio Workshop'' was an experimental dramatic radio anthology series that aired on CBS from January 27, 1956, until September 22, 1957. Subtitled “radio’s distinguished series to man’s imagination,” it was a revival of the earli ...

'', called "A Pride of Carrots, or Venus Well-Served". Nathan's seventh wife was the British actress

Anna Lee Anna Lee, MBE (born Joan Boniface Winnifrith; 2 January 1913 – 14 May 2004) was a British actress, labelled by studios "The British Bombshell". Early life Anna Lee was born Joan Boniface Winnifrith in Ightham (pronounced 'Item'), Kent, the ...

, to whom he was married from 1970 until his death. He came from a talented family—the activist Maud Nathan and author Annie Nathan Meyer were his aunts, and the poet

Emma Lazarus Emma Lazarus (July 22, 1849 – November 19, 1887) was an American author of poetry, prose, and translations, as well as an activist for Jewish and Georgism, Georgist causes. She is remembered for writing the sonnet "The New Colossus", which wa ...

and Supreme Court Justice

Benjamin Cardozo Benjamin Nathan Cardozo (May 24, 1870 – July 9, 1938) was an American lawyer and jurist who served on the New York Court of Appeals from 1914 to 1932 and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1932 until his deat ...

his cousins.

Works

Novels

* '' Peter Kindred'', 1919 * ''Autumn'', 1921 * ''The Puppet Master'', 1923 * ''Jonah'', 1925 * '' The Fiddler in Barly'', 1926 * '' The Woodcutter's House'', 1927 * ''The Bishop's Wife'', 1928 ( filmed in 1947) * '' There Is Another Heaven'', 1929 * ''The Orchid'', 1931 * ''One More Spring'', 1933 ( filmed in 1935) * '' Road of Ages'', 1935 * '' The Enchanted Voyage'', 1936 ( filmed in 1946) * '' Winter in April'', 1938 * ''

'', 1940 ( filmed in 1948) * '' They Went On Together'', 1941 * '' The Sea-Gull Cry'', 1942 * '' But Gently Day'', 1943 * '' Mr. Whittle and the Morning Star'', 1947 * '' Long After Summer'', 1948 (televised on ''

The Alcoa Hour ''The Alcoa Hour'' is an American anthology television series sponsored by the Alcoa Corporation that aired live on NBC from October 16, 1955, to September 22, 1957. Overview ''The Alcoa Hour'' is a one-hour live anthology series that primar ...

'' in 1956) * '' The River Journey'', 1949 * '' The Married Look'', 1950 * '' The Innocent Eve'', 1951 * '' The Train in the Meadow'', 1953 * '' Sir Henry'', 1955 * '' The Rancho of the Little Loves'', 1956 * '' So Love Returns'', 1958 * '' The Color of the Evening'', 1960 * ''

The Weans ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'', 1960, * '' The Wilderness-Stone'', 1961 * '' A Star in the Wind'', 1962 * '' The Devil with Love'', 1963 * ''The Fair'', 1964 * ''

The Mallott Diaries ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

'', 1965 * '' Stonecliff'', 1967 * ''Mia'', 1970 * '' The Elixir'', 1971 * '' The Summer Meadows'', 1973 * '' Heaven and Hell and the Megas Factor'', 1975

Novel collections

* '' The Barly Fields'', 1938 (collection containing '' The Fiddler in Barly'', '' The Woodcutter's House'', ''The Bishop's Wife'', ''The Orchid'', and '' There Is Another Heaven''). Introduction by

Stephen Vincent Benét Stephen Vincent Benét ( ; July 22, 1898 – March 13, 1943) was an American poet, short story writer, and novelist. He wrote a book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, '' John Brown's Body'', published in 1928, for which he receive ...

. * '' The Bishop's Wife and Two Other Novels'', 1946

Armed Services Edition Armed Services Editions (ASEs) were small paperback books of fiction and nonfiction that were distributed in the American military during World War II. From 1943 to 1947, some 122 million copies of more than 1,300 ASE titles were distributed to ...

, published by the

Council on Books in Wartime The Council on Books in Wartime (1942–1946) was an American non-profit organization founded by booksellers, publishers, librarians, authors, and others, in the spring of 1942 to channel the use of books as "weapons in the war of ideas" (the ...

(shortened version of ''The Barly Fields'', containing ''The Bishop's Wife'', ''The Orchid'', ''There Is Another Heaven'', and Benét's introduction)

Plays

* '' Jezebel’s Husband & The Sleeping Beauty'', 1953 (collection of two plays) * '' Juliet in Mantua'', 1966

Children's books

* '' Journey of Tapiola'', 1938 * '' Tapiola's Brave Regiment'', 1941 * '' The Adventures of Tapiola'', 1950 (collection containing '' Journey of Tapiola'' and '' Tapiola's Brave Regiment'') * '' The Snowflake and the Starfish'', 1959 * ''Tappy'', 1968

Screenplays

*''

'', 1944 (additional poetry) *'' The Clock'', 1945 *'' Pagan Love Song'', 1950

Nonfiction

* ''The Concert'', 1940 * '' Journal for Josephine'', 1943

Poetry

* '' Youth Grows Old'', 1922 * '' A Cedar Box'', 1929 * '' Selected Poems'', 1935 * '' A Winter Tide: Sonnets and Poems'', 1940 * ''

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

: A Ballad'', 1942 * '' Morning in Iowa'', 1944 * '' The Darkening Meadows'', 1945 * ''The Green Leaf'', 1950 * '' The Married Man'', 1962 * '' Evening Song: Selected Poems 1950-1973'', 1973

Radio programs

* ''

'', "A Pride of Carrots or Venus Well-Served," 1956 * ''CBS Radio Workshop," "Report on the We'Uns," 1956

Television programs

* ''The Mark Twain Television Theatre'', 1953.

Miscellaneous

* '' Two Robert Nathan Pieces'', 1950 (book containing an interview with Mr. Nathan by Harvey Breit and the poem: Advice To My Son) * "Robert Nathan Reading His Poems with Comment at His Home in Los Angeles, Calif., in April 1962", 1962 (tape reel sound recording)

References

*''The Married Look'', Robert Nathan. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1950 (author bibliography)

External links

Robert Nathan Library
– "the official library" * * *
Nathan, Robert
at ''

The Encyclopedia of Fantasy ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' is a 1997 reference work covering fantasy fiction, edited by John Clute and John Grant (author), John Grant. As of November 2012, the full text of ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' is available online, as a compani ...

'' *
A Pride of Carrots (Venus Well Served)
, MP3 file at the "CBS Radio Workshop" section of Internet Archive * * Robert Nathan Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nathan, Robert 1894 births 1985 deaths Harvard University alumni 20th-century American novelists American fantasy writers Jewish American novelists Jewish American poets Novelists from New York City 20th-century American poets American children's writers American male dramatists and playwrights American male novelists American male poets American male screenwriters 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American Sephardic Jews