Jonathan Rabb (born April 28, 1964) is an American novelist, soloist, essayist, actor and writer.
Early life and education
Born in Boston, Rabb grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, where his father,
Theodore K. Rabb, taught history at the university. He studied political science at
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the worl ...
from 1982 to 1986 and earned an MA and MPhil in political theory from
Columbia University.
While at Yale, Rabb sang with the
Whiffenpoofs
The Yale Whiffenpoofs is a collegiate a cappella singing group. Established at Yale University in 1909, it is the oldest such group in the United States. The line-up is completely replaced each year: the group is always composed of rising senio ...
and performed in numerous productions, eventually finding himself in New York, where he continued to act and sing both Off-Broadway (''
Fermat's Last Tango
''Fermat's Last Tango'' is a 2000 off-Broadway musical about the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem, written by husband and wife Joshua Rosenblum (music, lyrics) and Joanne Sydney Lessner (book, lyrics). The musical presents a fictionalized versio ...
''). and at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built b ...
with the New York City Pops.
After leaving Columbia, Rabb began to write fiction. His first novel, ''The Overseer'', was published in 1998. This was followed in 2001 by the historical thriller, ''The Book of Q''. Rabb released the first novel of the Berlin trilogy, ''Rosa'', in 2005, followed in 2009 by ''Shadow and Light'' and ''The Second Son'' in 2011.
Rabb has also published a string of short stories, essays, reviews and op-eds in ''
Strand Magazine
''The Strand Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine founded by George Newnes, composed of short fiction and general interest articles. It was published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950, running to 711 issues, though the ...
'', ''
The Oxford American
The ''Oxford American'' is a quarterly magazine that focuses on the American South.
First publication
The magazine was begun in late 1989 in Oxford, Mississippi, by Marc Smirnoff (born July 11, 1963).
The name "Oxford American" is a play on ''T ...
'', ''
Opera News
''Opera News'' is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to engender the appreciation of opera and also suppor ...
'', ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' and in the series ‘I Wish I’d Been There.’ (
Doubleday).
Rabb has taught at Columbia University, NYU, the 92nd Street Y and, in 2010, he joined the writing department faculty at the Savannah College of Art and Design.
Literary Work
Jonathan Rabb’s debut thriller ''The Overseer'' was published in 1998 by
Crown Publishers
The Crown Publishing Group is a subsidiary of Penguin Random House that publishes across several fiction and non-fiction categories. Originally founded in 1933 as a remaindered books wholesaler called Outlet Book Company, the firm expanded into ...
, a novel based on the discovery of a hidden medieval manuscript by an evil secret cabal.
''The Book of Q'' was released in 2001, published by
Crown Publishers
The Crown Publishing Group is a subsidiary of Penguin Random House that publishes across several fiction and non-fiction categories. Originally founded in 1933 as a remaindered books wholesaler called Outlet Book Company, the firm expanded into ...
. This book concerns the mysterious death and disappearance of
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
priests and a secret
Manichaean
Manichaeism (;
in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian prophet Mani (A ...
conspiracy.
The Berlin Trilogy is a set of historical mysteries: ''Rosa'' (2005), a detective story set in 1918 in war-ravaged Berlin, which introduces the characters of Detective Inspector Nikolai Hoffner and his assistant Hans Fichte of the
Kriminalpolizei
''Kriminalpolizei'' (, "criminal police") is the standard term for the criminal investigation agency within the police forces of Germany, Austria, and the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland. In Nazi Germany, the Kripo was the criminal poli ...
. ''Shadow and Light'' (2009) takes place in 1927, when an executive at the newly-famous
Ufa film studios is found dead. ''The Second Son'' (2011) is set later, before the 1936 Olympics, and continues the story Chief Inspector Nikolai Hoffner's life as his family's fortunes come up against the Nazi regime.
Awards and honours
''Rosa'' was named in ''
January Magazine
''January Magazine'' is an internet-based book-related publication. Founded by author Linda L. Richards in 1997, ''January Magazine'' has added various sections and offshoot publications since. The magazine is physically based in Vancouver, B ...
''’s Best Books of 2005.
Rabb's book ''Shadow and Light'' was named in 5 Best Berlin noirs, ''
Wall Street Journal'', 2012.
[Massie, Allan (2011) 'In the World of Night and Fog: The 12 years of Hitler's Third Reich are fertile ground for novelists' in ''The Wall Street Journal'' http://online.wsj.com]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rabb, Jonathan
American male novelists
1964 births
People from Princeton, New Jersey
Living people
20th-century American novelists
21st-century American novelists
Novelists from New Jersey
Yale University alumni
Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni
Columbia University faculty
Savannah College of Art and Design faculty
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American male writers
Novelists from New York (state)
Novelists from Georgia (U.S. state)