Meyer Levin (; October 7, 1905 – July 9, 1981) was an American novelist. Perhaps best known for his work on the Leopold and Loeb case, Levin worked as a journalist (for the '' Chicago Daily News'' and from 1933 to 1939, he worked as an editor for ''

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 ...

'').

Career

Levin was born in Chicago. He published six novels before World War II. Even though the critical response to them was good, none of them were financially successful. ''Reporter'' (1929) was a novel of the modern newspapers, ''Frankie and Johnny'' (1930) an urban romance, ''Yehuda'' (1931) takes place on a

kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

, and ''The New Bridge'' (1933) dealt with unemployed construction workers at the beginning of

the Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. In 1937, Levin published ''The Old Bunch'', a story of immigrant Chicago Jewry that James T. Farrell called "one of the most serious and ambitious novels yet produced by the current generation of American novelists." ''Citizens'' (1940) was a fictional account of the 1937 strike at the Republic Steel Company plant outside Chicago. He also wrote and directed a documentary titled "The Illegals", for the Office Of War. The film dealt with the smuggling of Jews out of Poland. Levin was a

war correspondent A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war, war zone. War correspondence stands as one of journalism's most important and impactful forms. War correspondents operate in the most conflict-ridden parts of the wor ...

in Europe during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, representing the Overseas News Agency and the

Jewish Telegraphic Agency The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is an international news agency and wire service that primarily covers Judaism- and Jewish-related topics and news. Described as the "Associated Press of the Jewish media", JTA serves Jewish and non-Jewish news ...

. After the war, Levin wrote, with the approval of the Frank family, a play which was based on '' The Diary of Anne Frank'', but his play was not produced. Instead, another version of the same story which was dramatized by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett reached Broadway. Levin sued for

plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...

. Meyer wrote the 1956 novel '' Compulsion'', inspired by the Leopold and Loeb case. The novel, for which Levin was given a Special

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

by the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the E ...

in 1957, was the basis for Levin's own 1957 play adaptation and the 1959 film which was based on it, starring

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

. ''Compulsion'' was "the first 'documentary' or '

non-fiction novel The non-fiction novel is a literary genre that, broadly speaking, depicts non-fictional elements, such as real historical figures and actual events, woven together with fictitious conversations and uses the storytelling techniques of fiction. The ...

' ("a style later used in

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics ...

's '' In Cold Blood'' and

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American writer, journalist and filmmaker. In a career spanning more than six decades, Mailer had 11 best-selling books, at least ...

's '' The Executioner's Song''"). Levin died in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Bibliography

Novels

*''The Reporter'' (1929) *''Frankie and Johnny'' (1930) *''Yehuda'' (1931) *''The Golden Mountain: Marvelous Tales of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem and of his Great-Grandson, Rabbi Nachman, Retold from Hebrew, Yiddish and German Sources'' (1932) *'' The New Bridge'' (1933) *'' The Old Bunch'' (1937) *''Citizens'' (1940) *'' My Father's House'' (1947) *'' Compulsion'' (1956) *''Eva'' (1959) *'' The Fanatic'' (1964) *'' The Stronghold'' (1965) *'' Gore and Igor'' (1968) *''The Settlers'' (1972) *'' The Spell of Time'' (1974) *'' The Harvest'' (1978) *''The Architect'' (1981), (fictionalized life of

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

) *"Classic Chassidic Tales" (1932), a gathering of the scattered legends of Baal Shem Tov

Autobiographical works

*'' In Search'' (1949) *''The Obsession'' (1974)

Judaica

*''Beginnings in Jewish Philosophy'' *''The Story of Israel'' *''An Israel Haggadah for Passover'' *''The Story of the Synagogue'' *''The Story of the Jewish Way of Life'' *''Hassidic Stories"

Awards

* 1966:

National Jewish Book Award The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1943, is an American organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. The goal of the council, as stated on its website, is "to promote the reading, writing and publishing of qual ...

for The Stronghold *1967:

for ''The Story of Israel''

References

External links

*
An article about The Illegals
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levin, Meyer 1905 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American novelists American crime fiction writers American male journalists American Zionists 20th-century American journalists American religious writers Edgar Award winners University of Chicago alumni Writers from Chicago Jewish American novelists American male novelists 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Illinois 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American Jews Writers from Jerusalem