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

Biography

Nathan was born into a prominent New York Sephardic family. He was educated in the United States and Switzerland and attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

for several years beginning in 1912. It was there that he began writing short fiction and poetry. 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 starring

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in '' Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...

, and

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen 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 1953. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the fil ...

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'' is a 1948 American fantasy film based on the 1940 novella by Robert Nathan. The film was directed by William Dieterle and produced by David O. Selznick. It stars Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten. At the 21st Academy A ...

'', 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 film, 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 over five decades, she was nominated ...

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'' and '' Sab ...

. 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 and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

, where he added additional poetry to update Alice Duer Miller's poem for the film '' The White Cliffs of Dover'' (1944). He then wrote the screenplay of '' The Clock'' (1945), in which he had a cameo role. His screenplay for '' 3 Godfathers'' (1948) was rejected, but he made contributions to the screenplay of ''

Pagan Love Song ''Pagan Love Song'' is a 1950 American romantic musical film released by MGM and starring Esther Williams and Howard Keel. Set in Tahiti, it was based on the novel ''Tahiti Landfall'' by William S. Stone. Plot Mimi Bennett lives with her wea ...

'' (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 earlie ...

'', 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, th ...

, 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 Annie Nathan Meyer (February 19, 1867 – September 23, 1951) was an American author, an anti-suffragist, and a promoter of higher education for women who founded Barnard College. Her sister was the activist Maud Nathan and her nephew the author ...

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 Georgist causes. She is remembered for writing the sonnet " The New Colossus", which was inspire ...

and Supreme Court Justice

Benjamin Cardozo Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's th ...

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 that was aired live on NBC from 1955 to 1957. The series was sponsored by Alcoa. Overview Like the ''Philco Television Playhouse'' and ''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' that had prec ...

'' 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'', 1960, * '' The Wilderness-Stone'', 1961 * '' A Star in the Wind'', 1962 * '' The Devil with Love'', 1963 * ''The Fair'', 1964 * '' The Mallott Diaries'', 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 is best known for his book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, '' John Brown's Body'' (1928), for which he receiv ...

. * '' 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 s ...

, published by the Council on Books in Wartime (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

*'' The White Cliffs of Dover'', 1944 (additional poetry) *'' The Clock'', 1945 *''

'', 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: 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 * ''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" * * *
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 American Sephardic Jews 20th-century American novelists American fantasy writers Jewish American novelists Jewish American poets Writers 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 Novelists from New York (state) 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American Jews