Francis Marion Crawford (August 2, 1854 – April 9, 1909) was an American writer noted for his many novels, especially those set in Italy, and for his classic weird and fantastical stories.

Early life

Crawford was born in

Bagni di Lucca Bagni di Lucca (formerly Bagno a Corsena) is a comune of Tuscany, Italy, in the Province of Lucca with a population of about 6,100. The comune has 27 named frazioni (wards). History Bagni di Lucca has been known for its thermal springs since the ...

, in the

Grand Duchy of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (; ) was an Italian monarchy located in Central Italy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1860, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In the 19th century the population ...

, on August 2, 1854. He was the only son of the American sculptor Thomas Crawford and Louisa Cutler Ward. His sister was the writer

Mary Crawford Fraser Mary Crawford Fraser (April 8, 1851 – 1922), usually known as Mrs. Hugh Fraser, was a writer noted for her various memoirs and historical novels. Early life Mary Crawford was born in Italy on April 8, 1851. She was the daughter of American s ...

(''aka'' Mrs. Hugh Fraser), and he was the nephew of

Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe ( ; May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" as new lyrics to an existing song, and the original 1870 pacifist Mothers' Day Proclamation. She w ...

, the American poet. After his father's death in 1857, his mother remarried to Luther Terry, with whom she had Crawford's half-sister, Margaret Ward Terry, who later became the wife of

Winthrop Astor Chanler Winthrop Astor Chanler (October 14, 1863 – August 24, 1926) was an American sportsman and soldier who fought in the Spanish–American War and World War I. Chanler, a descendant of many prominent American families including the Dudley–Winthr ...

. He studied successively at St Paul's School,

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 the population was 43,976, making it the List of municipalities ...

;

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

;

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

; and the University of Rome. In 1879, he went to India, where he studied

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

and edited in

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

''The Indian Herald''. Returning to America in February 1881, he continued to study Sanskrit at

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 ...

for a year and for two years contributed to various periodicals, mainly ''

The Critic ''The Critic'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated sitcom revolving around the life of New York film critic Jay Sherman, voiced by Jon Lovitz. It was created by writing partners Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who had previously worked as w ...

''. Early in 1882, he established his lifelong close friendship with

Isabella Stewart Gardner Isabella Stewart Gardner (April 14, 1840 – July 17, 1924) was an American art collector, philanthropist, and patron of the arts. She founded the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Gardner possessed an energetic intellectual curiosity ...

. During this period he lived most of the time in Boston at his aunt Julia Ward Howe's house and in the company of his uncle, Sam Ward. His family was concerned about his financial prospects. His mother had hoped he could train in Boston for a career as an operatic baritone based on his private renditions of

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

lieder. In January 1882,

George Henschel Sir Isidor George Henschel (18 February 185010 September 1934) was a German-born British baritone, pianist, conductor, composer and academic teacher. First trained as a pianist, he was a concert singer who sometimes sang to his own accompanime ...

, conductor of the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...

, assessed his prospects and determined Crawford would "never be able to sing in perfect tune". His uncle Sam Ward suggested he try writing about his years in India and helped him develop contacts with New York publishers.

Career

In December 1882, he produced his first novel, ''Mr Isaacs,'' a sketch of modern Anglo-Indian life mingled with a touch of Oriental mystery. It had an immediate success, and ''Dr Claudius'' (1883) followed promptly. In May 1883, he returned to Italy, where he made his permanent home. He lived at the historic Hotel Cocumella in Sorrento during 1885 and settled permanently in Sant'Agnello, where in the fall he bought the Villa Renzi that became Villa Crawford. More than half his novels are set in Italy. He wrote three long historical studies of Italy and was well advanced with a history of Rome in the Middle Ages when he died. This may explain why Marion Crawford's books stand apart from any distinctively American current in literature. Year by year Crawford published a number of successful novels. However his 1896 novel ''Adam Johnstone's Son'' was thought by the late nineteenth century English novelist

George Gissing George Robert Gissing ( ; 22 November 1857 – 28 December 1903) was an English novelist, who published 23 novels between 1880 and 1903. In the 1890s he was considered one of the three greatest novelists in England, and by the 1940s he had been ...

to be "rubbish". Late in the 1890s, Crawford began to write his historical works. These are: ''Ave Roma Immortalis'' (1898), ''Rulers of the South'' (1900) renamed ''Southern Italy and Sicily and The Rulers of the South'' in 1905 for the American market, and ''Gleanings from Venetian History'' (1905) with the American title ''Salvae Venetia'', reissued in 1909 as ''Venice; the Place and the People''. In these, his intimate knowledge of local Italian history combines with the romanticist's imaginative faculty to excellent effect. His shorter book ''Constantinople'' (1895) belongs to this category. After most of his fictional works had been published, most came to think he was a gifted narrator; and his books of fiction, full of historic vitality and dramatic characterization, became widely popular among readers to whom the realism of problems or the eccentricities of subjective analysis were repellent. In ''The Novel: What It Is'' (1893), he defended his literary approach, self-conceived as a combination of romanticism and realism, defining the art form in terms of its marketplace and audience. The novel, he wrote, is "a marketable commodity" and "intellectual artistic luxury" (8, 9) that "must amuse, indeed, but should amuse reasonably, from an intellectual point of view. . . . Its intention is to amuse and please, and certainly not to teach and preach; but in order to amuse well it must be a finely-balanced creation. . . ." (82). The

Saracinesca ''Saracinesca'' is a novel by F. Marion Crawford, first published as a serial in '' Blackwood's Magazine'' and then as a book in New York ('' Macmillan'') and Edinburgh (''Blackwood'') in 1887. Set chiefly in Rome of twenty years earlier, the ...

series is perhaps known to be his best work, with the third in the series, ''Don Orsino'' (1892) set against the background of a real estate bubble, told with effective concision. The second volume is ''Sant' Ilario'' ilary(1889). A fourth book in the series, ''Corleone'' (1897), was the first major treatment of

the Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other organized crime groups from Italy. The central ...

in literature, and used the now-familiar but then-original device of a priest unable to testify to a crime because of the Seal of the Confessional; the novel is not one of his major works, having failed to live up to the standard set by the books earlier in the series. Crawford ended ''Rulers of the South'' (1900) with a chapter about the

Sicilian Mafia The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a secret society, criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of ...

. Crawford himself was fondest of '' Khaled: A Tale of Arabia'' (1891), a story of a

genie GEnie (General Electric Network for Information Exchange) was an online service provider, online service created by a General Electric business, GEIS (now GXS Inc., GXS), that ran from 1985 through the end of 1999. In 1994, GEnie claimed around ...

(''genius'' is Crawford's word) who becomes human, which was reprinted (1971) in the

Ballantine Adult Fantasy series The Ballantine Adult Fantasy series was an imprint of American publisher Ballantine Books. Launched in 1969 (presumably in response to the growing popularity of Tolkien's works), the series reissued a number of works of fantasy literature which ...

of the early 1970s. ''A Cigarette-Maker's Romance'' (1890) was dramatized, and had considerable popularity on the stage as well as in its novel form; and in 1902 an original play from his pen, ''Francesca da Rimini,'' was produced in Paris by his friend

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including by Alexandre Dumas fils, ...

. Crawford's best known dramatization was that of ''The White Sister'' (1909). Its main actress was

Viola Allen Viola Emily Allen (October 27, 1867 – May 9, 1948) was an American stage actress who played leading roles in Shakespeare and other plays, including many original plays. She starred in over two dozen Broadway productions from 1885 to 1916. B ...

, whose first film was the 1915 film of this novel; it was filmed again in

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

and

1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...

. ''In the Palace of the King'' (1900) was filmed in 1915 and

; ''Mr. Isaacs'' (1882) was filmed in 1931 as '' Son of India''. Several of his short stories, such as " The Upper Berth" (1886; written in 1885), "For the Blood Is the Life" (1905, a vampiress tale), "The Dead Smile" (1899), and "

The Screaming Skull ''The Screaming Skull'' is a 1958 independently made American black-and-white horror film, produced by John Kneubuhl and directed by Alex Nicol, starring John Hudson, Peggy Webber, Russ Conway, Tony Johnson, and Nicol. ''The Screaming Skull'' m ...

" (1908), are often-anthologized classics of the horror genre. An essay on Crawford's weird tales can be found in

S. T. Joshi Sunand Tryambak Joshi (born June 22, 1958) is an American literary critic whose work has largely focused on weird and fantastic fiction, especially the life and work of H. P. Lovecraft and associated writers. Career His literary critic ...

's ''The Evolution of the Weird Tale'' (2004); there are many other essays and introductions. The collected weird stories were posthumously published in 1911 as ''Wandering Ghosts'' in the U.S. and as ''Uncanny Tales'' in the UK, both without the long-forgotten "The King's Messenger" (1907). The present definitive edition is that edited by Richard Dalby as ''Uncanny Tales'' and published by the

Tartarus Press Tartarus Press is an independent book publisher in Coverdale in North Yorkshire, England.

(1997; 2008). Crawford's novella ''Man Overboard!'' (1903) is often overlooked, but belongs with his supernatural works. In 1901, the American Macmillan firm began a deluxe uniform edition of his novels, as reprintings required. In 1904 the P. F. Collier Co. (N. Y.) was authorized to publish a 25-volume edition, later increased to 32 volumes. Around 1914 the subscription firm McKinlay, Stone, Mackenzie was authorized to publish an edition using the Macmillan binding decorations. In 1919 the American Macmillan firm published the "Sorrento Edition". They also had issued some first American editions and reprints in a uniform binding from 1891 through 1899. The British Macmillan firm used two separate uniform bindings from 1889 until after 1910. Crawford wrote numerous articles for major periodicals and a few contributions to books. See the section "Bibliographical History" in ''An F. Marion Crawford Companion'' (1981) by John C. Moran.

Personal life

In 1880, Crawford converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. In October 1884 he married Elizabeth Berdan, the daughter of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Union General

Hiram Berdan Hiram Berdan (September 6, 1824 – March 31, 1893) was an American engineer, inventor, military officer, marksman, and guiding force behind and commanding colonel of the United States Volunteer Sharpshooter Regiments during the American Civil W ...

. They had two sons and two daughters, Eleanor, Harold, Clara and Bertram. Crawford died at

Sorrento Sorrento ( , ; ; ) is a City status in Italy, city and overlooking the Gulf of Naples, Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the southern terminus of a main branch o ...

on Good Friday 1909 at Villa Crawford of a heart attack. It was the result of a severe lung injury ten years previous, caused by inhalation of toxic gases at a glass-smelting works in Colorado, which happened during his American lecture tour in the winter of 1897–1898. He was gathering technical information for his historical novel ''Marietta'' (1901), that describes glass-making in late medieval Venice. After his death, his widow sued for breach of contract related to the production of Crawford's novels into a film.

Legacy and influence

In his 1929 article "Some Remarks on Ghost Stories"

M. R. James Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English medievalist scholar and author who served as provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936) as well as Vice-Chancellor of the Univers ...

praised Crawford's supernatural fiction. James stated that "Marion Crawford and his horrid story of 'The Upper Berth', which (with 'The Screaming Skull' some distance behind) is the best in his collection of ''Uncanny Tales'', and stands high among ghost stories in general." H. Russell Wakefield, in an essay on ghost stories, called Crawford's "The Upper Berth" "the very best one" of such stories.

Norman Douglas George Norman Douglas (8 December 1868 – 7 February 1952) was a British writer, now best known for his 1917 novel ''South Wind''. His travel books, such as ''Old Calabria'' (1915), were also appreciated for the quality of their writing. ...

credits Crawford's financial success as instrumental in encouraging himself to write (though he remained critical of Crawford's habit of inserting first-person editorial comments into his fiction). The F. Marion Crawford Memorial Society was founded in 1975 and published the literary review ''The Romantist'' from 1977 until 1997. In 1997 the Centro Studi e Ricerche Francis Marion Crawford was founded at

Sant'Agnello Sant'Agnello is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 25 km southeast of Naples. Sant'Agnello borders the following municipalities: Piano di Sorrento, Sorrento. It is serv ...

di Sorrento. It is formally associated with the FMC Memorial Society and continues ''The Romantist'' in its annual review ''Genius Loci'' (1997–). In early May 1988 at Sant'Agnello, a Conference was held to commemorate Crawford. It was organized by the Comune di Sant' Agnello di Sorrento and the Istituto Universitario Orientale (Naples). Its "Acta" were published in English and Italian as ''Il Magnifico Crawford. Scrittore per Mestiere'' / ''The Magnificent Crawford. Writer by Trade'' (1990), edited by Gordon Poole. In mid-May 2009 the Centro Studi e Ricerche Francis Marion Crawford and the Comune di Sant' Agnello organized another Conference – ''Francis Marion Crawford; 100 Anni Dopo'' – to remember Crawford on the centenary of his death. Its "Acta" were published in Italian and English as ''Nuova Luce Su Francis Marion Crawford. Cento Anni Dopo 2009-1909'' / ''A Hundred Years Later: New Light on Francis Marion Crawford'' early in 2011, edited by Gordon Poole. The F. Marion Crawford Memorial Society collaborated in the organization of both Conferences. There is a major street in the Italian town of

di Sorrento (the town where he died) named after him, the ''Corso Marion Crawford''. There is a historical marker on the house where Crawford was born, in Bagni di Lucca. Villa Crawford was donated many years ago by Crawford's daughters Lady Eleanor Rocca-Crawford and Mother Clare Marion-Crawford to the Salesian Sisters, who operate it today as a high school for girls. In San Nicola Arcella, in the province of

Cosenza Cosenza (; Languages of Calabria#Northern Calabrian (Cosentian), Cosentian: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city located in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000, while the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. ...

, the Saracen tower where Francis Marion Crawford stayed in the summer is remembered as Torre Crawford. In 2020, the writer

Andrea Carlo Cappi Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that ref ...

with Matteo Fazzolari and Cosimo Gentile, created the literary prize for short story "Torre Crawford", whose annual theme is taken from a short story by Francis Marion Crawford (the theme of the first edition was "For the blood is the life ").

Bibliography

Novels

*''Mr. Isaacs: A Tale of Modern India'' (1882) *''Dr. Claudius'' (1883) *''To Leeward'' (1884), actually late 1883. The second American edition (Macmillan, 1893) is the only novel that Crawford substantively revised. *'' A Roman Singer'' (1884); Bernhard

Tauchnitz Tauchnitz was the name of a family of German printers and publishers. They published English language literature for distribution on the European continent outside Great Britain, including initial serial publications of novels by Charles Dickens. ...

, Leipzig, Vol. 2254 of the ''Collection of British Authors''. All of Crawford's novels, except for ''Love in Idleness'' (1893), were authorized by him for inclusion in his friend Baron Tauchnitz's series ''Collection of British Authors'', whose name was later changed to ''Collection of British and American Authors''. The Tauchnitz editions do not take bibliographical precedence over the British and United States editions. See the Crawford section of the ''Bibliography of American Literature''. *''An American Politician'' (1884); U.S. title-page has 1885. *''Zoroaster'' (1885), historical novel about the Persian religious leader.Nield, Jonathan (1925). ''A Guide to the Best Historical Novels and Tales''. G. P. Putnam's sons. (pp.34,44, 51,241.) *''A Tale of a Lonely Parish'' (1886) *''

'' (1887) *''Marzio's Crucifix'' (1887) *''Paul Patoff'' (1887) *''With the Immortals'' (1888) *''Greifenstein'' (1889) *''Sant' Ilario'' (1889); sequel to ''Saracinesca'' *''A Cigarette-Maker's Romance'' (1890) *'' Khaled: A Tale of Arabia'' (1891) *''The Witch of Prague'' (1891) *''The Three Fates'' (1892) *''Don Orsino'' (1892); sequel to ''Sant' Ilario'' *''The Children of the King'' (1893) *''Pietro Ghisleri'' (1893) *''Marion Darche'' (1893) *''Katharine Lauderdale'' (1894) (partly written while Crawford was staying at the Sinclair House) *''Love in Idleness'' (1894) *''The Ralstons'' (1894); sequel to ''Katharine Lauderdale'' *''Casa Braccio'' (1895); related to ''Katharine Lauderdale'' and ''The Ralstons''. *''Adam Johnstone's Son'' (1896) *''Taquisara'' (1896) *''A Rose of Yesterday'' (1897) *''Corleone'' (1897) *''Via Crucis'' (1899) historical novel about the

Second Crusade The Second Crusade (1147–1149) was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144 to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crus ...

. *''In the Palace of the King'' (1900) historical novel about

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

. *''Marietta'' (1901) historical novel set in Venice in 1470. *''Cecilia'' (1902) *''Man Overboard!'' (1903) ovella*''The Heart of Rome'' (1903) *''Whosoever Shall Offend'' (1904) *''Soprano'' (1905); U.S. title ''Fair Margaret''. *''A Lady of Rome'' (1906) *''Arethusa'' (1907) *''The Little City of Hope'' (1907) *''The Primadonna'' (1908); sequel to ''Soprano'' / ''Fair Margaret'' *''The Diva's Ruby'' (1908); sequel to ''The Primadonna'' *'' The White Sister'' (1909, first published as a serialized novel in ''

Munsey's Magazine ''Munsey's Magazine'' was an American magazine founded by Frank Munsey in 1889 as ''Munsey's Weekly'', a humor magazine edited by John Kendrick Bangs. It was unsuccessful, and by late 1891 had lost $100,000 ($ in ). Munsey converted it into ...

'' and adapted from his earlier play of the same name) *''Stradella'' (1909) *''The Undesirable Governess'' (1910)

Short stories

*" The Upper Berth" (1885); with "By the Waters of Paradise" (1886). (the two published together 1894) *"The King's Messenger" (1907) *"

" (1908) *"Wandering Ghosts"; British title: "Uncanny Tales" (1911) (Collection of seven stories)

Nonfiction

*''Our Silver'' (1881) amphlet*''The Novel: What It Is'' (1893) *''Constantinople'' (1895) *''Bar Harbor'' (1896) *''Ave Roma Immortalis'' (1898) *''Rulers of the South'' (1900; 1905 in the U.S. as ''Southern Italy and Sicily and The Rulers of the South'') *''Gleanings from Venetian History'' (1905; in the U.S. as ''Salvae Venetia'' and in 1909 as ''Venice; the People and the Place'')

Drama

*''In the Palace of the King'' (1900); with Lorrimer Stoddard. *''Francesca da Rimini'' (1902). Written at the request of Crawford's good friend Sarah Bernhardt. Translated by

Marcel Schwob Mayer André Marcel Schwob, known as Marcel Schwob (23 August 1867 – 26 February 1905), was a French symbolist writer best known for his short stories and his literary influence on authors such as Jorge Luis Borges, Alfonso Reyes, Roberto Bo ...

(Paris: Charpentier et Fasquelle, 1902); new edition traduction de l'américain en français par Marcel Schwob, Sulliver, 1996. The English text was not published until 1980, with introductory matter, by The F. Marion Crawford Memorial Society. Ten unpublished copies of the English text were set up and printed for The Macmillan Company (New York City) in 1902 to copyright the text. The piece was adapted into an opera by

Franco Leoni Franco Leoni (24 October 1864 – 8 February 1949) was an Italian opera composer. After training in Milan, he made most of his career in England, composing for Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and West End theatre, West End theatres. He is ...

in 1904. *''Evelyn Hastings'' (1902). Unpublished typescript discovered in 2008. *'' The White Sister'' (first written by Crawford in 1907 prior to the novel which was adapted form the 1907 play; later modified by

Walter Hackett Walter Laurence Hackett (usually referred to as Walter Hackett, sometimes given as Walter L. Hackett or Walter Lawrence Hackett, and erroneously given as Walter C. Hackett) (November 10, 1876 – January 20, 1944) was an American playwright an ...

for the stage premiere at the Stone Opera House in

Binghamton, New York Binghamton ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the c ...

on February 8, 1909)

Filmography

*'' A Cigarette-Maker's Romance'', directed by Frank Wilson (UK, 1913, based on the novella ''A Cigarette-Maker's Romance'') *'' The White Sister'', directed by Fred E. Wright (1915, based on the play ''The White Sister'' by Crawford and Hackett) *', directed by Fred E. Wright (1915, based on the novel ''In the Palace of the King'') *'' Whosoever Shall Offend'', directed by

Arrigo Bocchi Arrigo Bocchi (c.1871 – ?) was a British-Italian film director and producer of the silent era.Low p.149-50 After the First World War Bocchi worked for Windsor Films at the Catford Studios in London as well as shooting films on location in Ital ...

(UK, 1919, based on the novel ''Whosoever Shall Offend'') *''Il cuore di Roma'', directed by

Edoardo Bencivenga Edoardo Bencivenga (Naples, 1885 – Rome, June 6, 1934) was an Italian film director. Bencivegna began his career in 1907 with his first short film ''Raffaello e la Fornarina.'' In his career, he made over 60 films, the last one in 1922. Caree ...

(Italy, 1919, based on the novel ''The Heart of Rome'') *''A Cigarette-Maker's Romance'', directed by Tom Watts (UK, 1920, based on the novella ''A Cigarette-Maker's Romance'') *', directed by

Gaston Ravel Gaston Ravel (; 1878–1958) was a French screenwriter and film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and ...

(Italy, 1921, based on the novel ''

'') *', directed by

Henry Kolker Joseph Henry Kolker (November 13, 1874 – July 15, 1947) was an American stage and film actor and film director, director. Early years Kolker was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1874. (Some sources say 1870.) He came to America at age five and w ...

(Italy, 1923, based on the novel ''Sant' Ilario'') *'' The White Sister'', directed by Henry King (1923, based on the play ''The White Sister'' by Crawford and Hackett) *'' In the Palace of the King'', directed by

Emmett J. Flynn Emmett John Flynn (1882 – June 4, 1937) was an American director, screenwriter, actor, and producer. Early life Emmett John Flynn was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1882. He graduated from Regis University, Sacred Heart College of Denver. Car ...

(1923, based on the novel ''In the Palace of the King'') *'' Son of India'', directed by

Jacques Feyder Jacques Feyder (; 21 July 1885 – 24 May 1948) was a Belgian film director, screenwriter and actor who worked principally in France, but also in the US, Britain and Germany. He was a director of silent films during the 1920s, and in the 193 ...

(1931, based on the novel ''Mr. Isaacs'') *'' The White Sister'', directed by

Victor Fleming Victor Lonzo Fleming (February 23, 1889 – January 6, 1949) was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were the historical drama ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'', for which he won an A ...

(1933, based on the play ''The White Sister'' by Crawford and Hackett) *''

'', directed by

Alex Nicol Alexander Livingston Nicol Jr. (January 20, 1916 – July 29, 2001) was an American actor and film director. Nicol appeared in many Westerns including '' The Man from Laramie'' (1955). He appeared in more than forty feature films as well as dir ...

(1958, named after the short story ''The Screaming Skull'') *'' The White Sister'', directed by

Tito Davison Tito Davison (14 November 1912 – 21 March 1985) was a Chilean-born Mexican film director and screenwriter. He directed more than 60 films between 1937 and 1982. Selected filmography * ''Thus Is Life'' (1930) * ''Shadows of Glory'' (1930) ...

(Mexico, 1960, based on the play ''The White Sister'' by Crawford and Hackett)

Notes

References

* *John Pilkington, Jr. (1964): ''Francis Marion Crawford'', Twayne Publishers Inc. (Library of Congress Catalog Number: 64-20717) *Maud Howe Elliott (1934): ''My Cousin, F. Marion Crawford'', The Macmillan Company *John C. Moran (1981): ''An F. Marion Crawford Companion'', Greenwood Press (LC Catalog Num.: 80-1707) * *Alessandra Contenti (1992) : ''Esercizi di Nostalgia. La Roma Sparita di F. Marion Crawford'', Archivo Guido Izzi *Crawford has been the subject of a voluminous amount of biographical and critical writings beginning in 1883: articles in periodicals, sections of books, introductions, theses and dissertations (mainly in the U.S. and Italy), etc. *Crawford's works form a section of the ''Bibliography of American Literature''.

External links

* * * * *
"The Upper Berth"
Creative Commons Audio Book. * This article has information about Francis Marion Crawford toward its end.
F. Marion Crawford Papers
at

Houghton Library Houghton Library, on the south side of Harvard Yard adjacent to Widener Library, Lamont Library, and Loeb House, is Harvard University's primary repository for rare books and manuscripts. It is part of the Harvard College Library, the library s ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Francis Marion 1854 births 1909 deaths 19th-century American novelists 19th-century American male writers 19th-century Roman Catholics 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century Roman Catholics Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge American expatriates in Italy American fantasy writers American historical novelists American horror writers American male novelists American Roman Catholic writers Converts to Roman Catholicism Ghost story writers Harvard University alumni Heidelberg University alumni Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters People from Bagni di Lucca People from Sorrento Sapienza University of Rome alumni St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni Writers of historical fiction set in antiquity Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period