Robert C. O'Brien (author)

Robert Leslie Carroll Conly (January 11, 1918 – March 5, 1973), better known by his pen name Robert C. O'Brien, was an American novelist and a journalist for ''National Geographic'' magazine.

Early life

Conly was born in Brooklyn, New York, the third of five children in a wealthy Irish Catholic family. With interests in music and literature, Conly entered Williams College in 1935 but left in his second year. He then went through a period that he referred to as his "breakdown", briefly working in Albany, New York, before going back to his family in disgrace. Although he later studied for a time at Juilliard, he went on to receive his Bachelor of Arts in English at the University of Rochester in 1940.O'Brien, Sally M. (1978). "Biographical Sketch of Robert Leslie Conly". ''Fourth Book of Junior Authors and Illustrators''. New York: HW Wilson. Pp. 276–78. . Reprinted in Masis (1997).

Writings

Journalism

After his university graduation, Conly had a brief stint in an advertising agency, and then began working for '' Newsweek''. He was ineligible for conscription during World War II, as unfit due to physical and mental ailments (classification 4-F in later terms). He then covered national and city news for the ''Washington Times-Herald'' beginning in 1944 and later the ''Pathfinder'', a news magazine. In 1951, he began working as an editor and writer for ''National Geographic'', a job which was to take him around the world. From 1970 until his death he was a senior assistant editor there.

Fiction writer

In the 1960s Conly developed glaucoma. Because he could no longer drive to work, he and his family moved in 1963 from Virginia closer to his office in Washington, D.C. In the time he saved from not having to commute, he began to write children's stories. Conly is best known for writing novels under the name "Robert C. O'Brien", from his mother's maiden name, used because his ''National Geographic'' contract "forbid him from publishing with any other company".

His first books were the children's stories '' The Silver Crown'' (1968) and ''Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH'' (1971). He won the 1972 Newbery Medal for the latter and his comments at the American Library Association annual conference were read by his editor Jean Karl to preserve his anonymity. According to Sally Conly, his last two novels, ''A Report from Group 17'' (1972) and '' Z for Zachariah'' (1974), were intended for adults. After his death in 1973, Sally and their daughter Jane finished the latter novel using his notes so it could be published posthumously.O'Brien, Robert C. "About the Author". ''Z for Zachariah''. 1974. New York: Simon Pulse, 2007. ''Z for Zachariah'' received a 1976 Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery from the Mystery Writers of America.

Jane Leslie Conly later published two sequels to ''Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH'': ''Racso and the Rats of NIMH'' (1986) and ''R-T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH'' (1990).

Personal life

Robert Conly married Sally McCaslin in 1943. The couple had four children, three daughters and a son. The marriage lasted until his death from a heart attack thirty years later in 1973. Mrs. Conly has written about her husband under the name Sally O'Brien.

Published books

All are novels published as by Robert C. O'Brien.
*'' The Silver Crown'' ( Atheneum Books, 1968)
*''Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH'' (Atheneum, 1971)
*''A Report from Group 17'' (Macmillan, 1972)
*'' Z for Zachariah'' (Atheneum, 1974)

References

Notes

Sources consulted

* Masis, Boris (1997)
"What has been said about Robert C. O'Brien"
''The Z for Zachariah Nuclear Comparison Page'' (borism.net/zforz).

External links

*
*
*
O'Brien's entry
at The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Robert C.
1918 births
1973 deaths
American people of Irish descent
American children's writers
American male journalists
Journalists from New York City
American speculative fiction writers
Edgar Award winners
Newbery Medal winners
Writers from Brooklyn
Williams College alumni
Writers from Washington, D.C.
20th-century American novelists
American male novelists
20th-century American male writers
Novelists from New York (state)
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century pseudonymous writers