John Knowles (; September 16, 1926November 29, 2001) was an American novelist best known for ''

A Separate Peace ''A Separate Peace'' is a coming-of-age novel by John Knowles, published in 1958. Based on his earlier short story "Phineas", published in the May 1956 issue of ''Cosmopolitan'', it was Knowles's first published novel and became his best-know ...

'' (1959).

Biography

Knowles was born on September 17, 1926, in

Fairmont, West Virginia Fairmont is a city in and county seat of Marion County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 18,313 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Fairmont Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Marion County, a ...

, the son of James M. Knowles, a purchasing agent from

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as ...

, and Mary Beatrice Shea Knowles from

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the county seat, seat of Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 43,976, making it the third larg ...

. His father was a coal company executive, which earned an income that afforded the family a comfortable living. As a youth, Knowles would remark that he could write just as well as the stories from ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

''. Knowles attended St. Peter's High School in Fairmont from 1938 to 1940, before he continued at

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

Exeter, New Hampshire Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 16,049 at the 2020 census, up from 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood. ...

, and graduated in 1945. Following his time at Phillips Exeter, Knowles spent eight months serving in the

US Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Knowles graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

as a member of the class of 1949. At Yale, Knowles contributed stories to campus humor magazine ''

The Yale Record ''The Yale Record'' is the campus humor magazine of Yale University. Founded in 1872, it became the oldest humor magazine in the world when ''Punch'' folded in 2002."History", The Yale Record, March 10, 2010. http://www.yalerecord.com/about/histo ...

'' and served on the board of the ''

Yale Daily News The ''Yale Daily News'' is an independent student newspaper published by Yale University students in New Haven, Connecticut since January 28, 1878. It is the oldest college daily newspaper in the United States. The ''Yale Daily News'' has consis ...

'' during his sophomore, junior, and senior years, notably as editorial secretary during his senior year. He was a record-holding varsity swimmer during his sophomore year. Early in Knowles's career, he wrote for the ''

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is considered to be the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven ...

'' and was assistant editor for ''

Holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or t ...

'' magazine. With encouragement from

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel '' The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and '' The Skin of Our Teeth'' — ...

, he concurrently began writing novels. Knowles died on November 29, 2001, near

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 Unit ...

''A Separate Peace''

'' was first published in London by

Secker and Warburg Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press. History Secker & Warburg Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...

in 1959. Published in New York in 1960 by

Macmillan MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to: People * McMillan (surname) * Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan * Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician * James MacMillan, Scottish composer * William Duncan MacMillan ...

, it is his most celebrated work. The novel is based upon Knowles's experiences at

. The Devon School, the book's setting, is a thinly-veiled fictionalization of Exeter, with both campus and town easily recognizable. Although the plot is not autobiographical, elements of the novel stem from personal experience, including Knowles's membership in a

secret society A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ...

and his sustaining of a foot injury while he jumped from a tree during society exercises. In his essay "A Special Time, A Special Place," Knowles wrote, "The only elements in ''A Separate Peace'' which were not in that summer were anger, violence, and hatred. There was only friendship, athleticism, and loyalty." The secondary character Finny (Phineas) is the friend of the main character Gene. Knowles has stated that he modeled Finny on

David Hackett David Low Hackett (November 12, 1926 – April 23, 2011) was an American official. Born in Dedham, Massachusetts, Hackett was appointed by President John F. Kennedy to head the President's Committee on Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Crime. La ...

from

Milton Academy Milton Academy (also known as Milton) is a highly selective, coeducational, independent preparatory, boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts consisting of a grade 9–12 Upper School and a grade K–8 Lower School. Boarding is offered ...

, whom he met when both attended a summer session at Phillips Exeter Academy. Hackett was a friend of Robert F. Kennedy under whom he later served in the

US Justice Department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

. A student, Phineas Sprague, lived in the same dormitory as Knowles during the summer session of 1943 and may have inspired the character's name. In his memoir ''Palimpsest'',

Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit, erudition, and patrician manner. Vidal was bisexual, and in his novels and e ...

acknowledged that he and Knowles concurrently attended Phillips Exeter Academy with Vidal two years ahead. Vidal stated that Knowles told him that the character Brinker was based on him. "We have been friends for many years now," Vidal said, "and I admire the novel that he based on our school days, ''A Separate Peace''."

Awards

Knowles won the

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is awarded annually by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to the authors of the year's best works of fiction by living American citizens. The winner receives US$15,000 and each of four runners-up receives US$5000. Fi ...

and the Rosenthal Award of the

National Institute of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...

Selected works

* ''A Turn with the Sun'' (short story), Story No.4, 1953 * ''

'' (novel), London, Secker & Warburg, 1959; New York, Macmillan Co., 1960 * ''Morning in Antibes'' (novel), New York, Macmillan, 1962 * ''Double Vision; American Thoughts Abroad'', New York, Macmillan, 1964 * ''Indian Summer'', New York, Random House, 1966 * ''Phineas; six stories'', New York, Random House, 1968 * ''The Paragon'' (novel), New York, Random House, c. 1971 * ''Spreading Fires'', New York, Random House, 1974 * ''A Vein of Riches'', Boston, Little Brown, 1978 * ''

Peace Breaks Out ''Peace Breaks Out'' (1981) is a novel by American author John Knowles, better known for ''A Separate Peace'' (1959). Both books share the setting of the Devon preparatory school, probably a reference to Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Ham ...

'' (novel), New York, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1981 * ''A Stolen Past'', New York, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1983 * ''The Private Life of Axie Reed'', New York : John Knowles, 1986 * ''A Special Time, A Special Place'', ''Exeter Bulletin'', 1995 (autobiographical note on internet)

References

External links

* John Knowles Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, John 1926 births 2001 deaths United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II 20th-century American novelists People from Fairmont, West Virginia People from Southampton (town), New York Phillips Exeter Academy alumni United States Army Air Forces soldiers Novelists from New York (state) Yale University alumni Military personnel from West Virginia Postmodern writers American male novelists American male journalists 20th-century American journalists Hartford Courant people Journalists from West Virginia Novelists from West Virginia PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction winners 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers