Castle Freeman Jr. (born Nov 26, 1944
Retrieved 2012-12-17.) is the award-winning author of the acclaimed novel '' Go With Me'', adapted into the film '' Blackway'' (2015) starring

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...

and

Julia Stiles Julia O'Hara Stiles (born March 28, 1981) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Stiles began acting at the age of 11 as part of New York's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. Her film debut was a small role in ''I'' ''Love Yo ...

. For 30 years he was a contributor to '' The Old Farmer's Almanac'' and is the author of four other novels, two short-story collections, as well as a major history of a Vermont township.

Life

Castle Freeman Jr. was born in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

in 1944, the son of an officer in the

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

. His family was from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, though, and he grew up in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He studied at

Columbia University School of General Studies The School of General Studies, Columbia University (GS) is a liberal arts college and one of the undergraduate colleges of Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus in Morningside Heights, New York City. GS is known primarily ...

graduating in 1968, and in 1969 married artist and designer Alice Chaffee. In 1972, they moved to

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

,About the Author , Castle Freeman, Jr.
Retrieved 2012-12-16. living in Newfane since 1975.

Writing

Freeman began writing on his arrival in Vermont. Although employed as an editor and proof-reader for book and magazine publishers, he has been a regular contributor to several periodicals including '' The Old Farmer's Almanac'' (1982-2011), '' Harrowsmith Country Life Magazine'' (1992-93), and '' Vermont Life Magazine'' (2009–2018). He has had four novels and two short-story collections published as well as a collection of essays and a history of

Townshend, Vermont Townshend is a New England town, town in Windham County, Vermont, Windham County, Vermont, United States. The town was named for the Townshend family, powerful figures in British politics. The population was 1,291 at the 2020 United States Census, ...

. He is also the author of fifty short-stories and over 100 essays and other non-fiction. Virtually all his writing concerns rural northern

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

and Vermont in particular His work has also appeared in ''

The Best American Short Stories The Best American Short Stories yearly anthology is a part of ''The Best American Series'' published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since 1915, the BASS anthology has striven to contain the best short stories by some of the best-known writers in con ...

'' and ''

The Best American Nonrequired Reading ''The Best American Nonrequired Reading'' was a yearly anthology of fiction and nonfiction selected annually by high school students in California and Michigan through 826 Valencia and 826michigan. The volume was part of ''The Best American Serie ...

''. His first novel ''Judgement Hill'' published in 1997 was according to ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'', "an intricate first novel", " While the dialogue, rich in vernacular and quiet humor, is sometimes difficult to follow, Freeman uses it cleverly to reveal the complex motivations of his not-so-homespun characters...this occasionally overwritten fable brims with local color that conveys Freeman's deep feeling for the Vermont environment". ''Publishers Weekly'' were also positive about his next novel, ''My Life and Adventures'', finishing their comments with "Although the book's momentum is sometimes hampered by flaccid historical tidbits, Freeman's witty and thoughtful observations are bound to charm" It was Castle Freeman's third novel '' Go With Me'' which found most acclaim, was republished in paperback by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News ...

and received wide praise on both sides of the Atlantic. His novel ''All That I Have'' was praised by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'': "It is impossible not to appreciate this spare, meditative and seamlessly crafted novel."

Bibliography

Castle Freeman's published work includes:

Novels

*''Judgment Hill'' (1997) *''My Life and Adventures'' (2002) *'' Go With Me'' (2008) *''All That I Have'' (2009) *''The Devil in the Valley'' (2015) *''Old Number Five'' (2018) *''Children of the Valley'' (2020)

Short story collections

*''The Bride of Ambrose and Other Stories'' (1987) *''Round Mountain: Twelve Stories'' (2012)

Others

*''Spring Snow: The Seasons of New England from The Old Farmer's Almanac'' (1995) - Essay collection *''A Stitch In Time :

, 1753-2003'' (non-fiction)A Stitch in Time: Townshend, Vermont 1753-2003 , Castle Freeman, Jr.
Retrieved 2012-12-17.

References

External links

*
Castle Freeman Jr. interviewMonday Interview: Castle Freeman Jr.

Online short-story from the '' New England Review'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Castle Living people 1944 births Writers from San Antonio People from Newfane, Vermont Novelists from Vermont Writers from Chicago Columbia University School of General Studies alumni American male short story writers American male novelists Novelists from Texas Novelists from Illinois American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers