semi-autobiographical novel
An autobiographical novel, also known as an autobiographical fiction, fictional autobiography, or autobiographical fiction novel, is a type of novel which uses autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The l ...
by "The Dean of Western Writers",
Wallace Stegner
Wallace Earle Stegner (February 18, 1909 – April 13, 1993) was an American novelist, writer, environmentalist, and historian. He was often called "The Dean of Western Writers". He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1972 and the U.S. National Book Award ...
. It gained broad literary acclaim and commercial popularity.
In ''Crossing to Safety'', Stegner explores the mysteries of friendship, and it extends Stegner's distinguished body of work that had already earned him a Pulitzer Prize (for 1971's ''
Angle of Repose
The angle of repose, or critical angle of repose, of a granular material is the steepest angle of descent or Strike and dip, dip relative to the horizontal plane on which the material can be piled without slumping. At this angle, the material ...
'') and the National Book Award (for 1976's ''
The Spectator Bird
''The Spectator Bird'' is a 1976 novel by Wallace Stegner. It won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1977, one of the two most prestigious literary awards in the United States.
Stegner's powerful but unassuming narrative traces the bond that develops between the Langs and the Morgans from their first meeting in 1937 through their eventual separation on the occasion of Charity's death from cancer.