Frederic Morton (October 5, 1924 – April 20, 2015) was an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n-born American writer.

Life

Born Fritz Mandelbaum in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Morton was the son of a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

who specialized in forging (manufacturing) imperial

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

s. In the wake of the ''

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

'' of 1938, his father was arrested, but later released from

Dachau Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

concentration camp. The family fled to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

in 1939 and migrated to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

the next year, when the senior Mandelbaum also changed the family name in order to be able to join an

anti-Semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

. Morton worked as a

baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient histo ...

but began studying literature in 1949. He visited Austria several times since 1951 until his death. His 1962 visit was to marry his fiancée, Marcia, whom he had met at college. From 1959, Morton worked as a columnist for several American periodicals including ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'', and ''

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''. He died at the Hilton hotel in Vienna at the age of 90 on April 20, 2015 while visiting, returning twice a year in his later years.

Selected works

*''The Hound'' (Dodd, Mead, 1947) Intercollegiate Literary Fellowship Prize Novels *''Asphalt and Desire'' (Harcourt Brace, 1952) novel *''The Witching Ship'' (Random House, 1960) novel *''The Rothschilds: A Family Portrait'' (

Atheneum Books Atheneum Books was a New York City publishing house established in 1959 by Alfred A. Knopf, Jr., Simon Michael Bessie and Hiram Haydn. Simon & Schuster has owned Atheneum properties since it acquired Macmillan in 1994, and it created Atheneum ...

, 1962) ; edition with new epilogue and afterword, ''The

Rothschilds The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish noble banking family originally from Frankfurt. The family's documented history starts in 16th-century Frankfurt; its name is derived from the family house, Rothschild, ...

: Portrait of a Dynasty'' (New York: Kodansha International, 1998) ( ), *''The Schatten Affair'' (Atheneum, 1965) novel *''Snow Gods'' (New American Library, 1968) novel *''An Unknown Woman'' (Little Brown, 1976) novel *''A Nervous Splendor: Vienna, 1888–1889'' (Little Brown, 1979) ( ) reprinted by the

Folio Society The Folio Society is an independent London-based publisher, founded by Charles Ede in 1947 and incorporated in 1971. Formerly privately owned, it became an employee ownership trust in 2021. It produces illustrated hardback fine press edit ...

2006 *''The Forever Street'' (Doubleday, 1984) ( ) novel *''Chocolate: An Illustrated History'' (Random House, 1986) ( ) written with his wife Marcia *''Crosstown Sabbath: A Street Journey Through History'' (Grove Press, 1987) ( ) *''Thunder at Twilight: Vienna 1913-1914'' (Scribner's, 1989) ( ) *''Runaway Waltz'' (Simon & Schuster, 2005) ( )

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

Decorations and awards

* 1963: Author of the Year ( Anti-Defamation League) * 1980: Title of "Professor" * 2001: Gold Medal of Vienna * 2003:

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian Decoration for Science and Art" was established by the National C ...

References

External links

Complete bibliography (Literaturhaus Wien)

(By Richard Bernstein, June 28, 2003) * On Thelemanngasse(By Frederic Morton, February 20, 2006) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, Frederic 1924 births 2015 deaths Jewish emigrants from Austria after the Anschluss to the United States American bakers Jewish American novelists People from Hernals Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class American columnists The New York Times columnists 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American non-fiction writers Writers from Vienna American male novelists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American Jews