Henry Morton Robinson (September 7, 1898 – January 13, 1961) was an American novelist, best known for '' A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake'' written with

Joseph Campbell Joseph John Campbell (March 26, 1904 – October 30, 1987) was an American writer. He was a professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College who worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work covers many aspects of the ...

and his 1950 novel ''The Cardinal'', which ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' magazine reported was "The year's most popular book, fiction or nonfiction.""Books: The Year in Books"
''Time'', December 18, 1950

Biography

Robinson was born in Boston and graduated from Columbia College in 1923 after serving in the US Navy during the First World War. He was an instructor in English at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, and a senior editor at ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wif ...

''. On December 23, 1960, he fell asleep in a hot bath after taking a sedative. Three weeks later, on January 13, 1961, he died in New York of complications from the resulting second- and third-degree burns. He is buried in Artists Cemetery in

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 20 ...

. His son, Anthony Robinson, is also a noted novelist.

Career

His best-known novel ''The Cardinal'' details the life of Stephen Fermoyle, a young American priest who eventually becomes a Prince of the Church. The story is based in part on the life of

Francis Cardinal Spellman Francis Joseph Spellman (May 4, 1889 – December 2, 1967) was an American bishop and cardinal of the Catholic Church. From 1939 until his death in 1967, he served as the sixth Archbishop of New York; he had previously served as an auxiliary ...

, Archbishop of New York (1939–1967). ''The Cardinal'' was adapted into an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-nominated film in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

, directed by

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( , ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gai ...

and starring Tom Tryon, however, the plot was rather loosely adapted from Morton's novel. Robinson also wrote '' The Perfect Round'' (1947). An excerpt from that novel was adapted into a screenplay by Richard Carr and put to film by

David Carradine David Carradine ( ; born John Arthur Carradine Jr.; December 8, 1936 – June 3, 2009) was an American actor best known for playing martial arts roles. He is perhaps best known as the star of the 1970s television series '' Kung Fu'', playi ...

in a movie called '' Americana''. The film won The People's Choice Award at the

Director's Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (french: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is an independent selection of the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festi ...

at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

, in 1981. Audiences liked the film, but it was not well received by critics.Carradine, David. ''Endless Highway''. (1995) Journey EditionsHoneycutt, Kurt. ''Carradine'
"Americana" was one from the heart''
Reuters June 5, 2009

Bibliography

* ''Children of Morningside'' (1924) poetry * ''Buck Fever'' (1929) poetry *''Stout Cortez: a Biography of the Spanish Conquest'' (1931) *''Science Versus Crime'' (1935) *''Second Wisdom'' (1937) poetry *'' A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake'', with

(1944) *''The Perfect Round'' (1947, filmed as '' Americana'' in 1983) *''The Great Snow'' (1947) *''The Cardinal'' (1950) about the life of a Roman Catholic priest. *''The Enchanted Grindstone and Other Poems'' (1952) poetry *''Water of Life'' (1960) Impact of whiskey-making on three generations of an Indiana family.

References

External links

Henry Morton Robinson Papers 1915-1965
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Henry Morton 1898 births 1961 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists Columbia College (New York) alumni Writers from Boston People from Woodstock, New York 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Massachusetts Military personnel from Massachusetts