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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 The ''Chicago Daily News'' was an afternoon daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, published between 1875 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois. History The ''Daily News'' was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Doughert ...
'' and, from 1933–1939, 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 gentlema ...
'').


Career

Levin was born in Chicago. He published six novels before World War II. Though critical response was good, none were successful financially. ''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 ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...
, and ''The New Bridge'' (1933) dealt with unemployed construction workers at the beginning of the Depression. 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 in Europe during World War II, representing the Overseas News Agency and the
Jewish Telegraphic Agency The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is an international news agency and wire service, founded in 1917, serving Jewish community newspapers and media around the world as well as non-Jewish press, with about 70 syndication clients listed on its we ...
. After the war, Levin wrote, with the approval of the Frank family, a play based on ''
The Diary of Anne Frank ''The Diary of a Young Girl'', also known as ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', is a book of the writings from the Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherl ...
'', but his play was not produced. Instead a version of the same story dramatized by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett reached Broadway. Levin sued for plagiarism. 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, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...
by the
Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an 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 Edgar Award ...
in 1957, was the basis for Levin's own 1957 play adaptation and the 1959 film based on it, starring
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
. ''Compulsion'' was "the first 'documentary' or '
non-fiction novel The non-fiction novel is a literary genre which, broadly speaking, depicts real historical figures and actual events woven together with fictitious conversations and uses the storytelling techniques of fiction. The non-fiction novel is an otherw ...
' ("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 ''In Cold Blood'' is a non-fiction novel by American author Truman Capote, first published in 1966. It details the 1959 murders of four members of the Clutter family in the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas. Capote learned of the qu ...
'' and
Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, activist, filmmaker and actor. In a career spanning over six decades, Maile ...
's '' The Executioner's Song''"). Levin died in
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
.


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 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'' (1933) *''
The Old Bunch ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (1937) *''Citizens'' (1940) *''
My Father's House ''My Father's House'' ( he, בית אבי) is a 1947 British Mandatory Palestine-American drama film directed by Herbert Kline, with a script by Jewish-American novelist and journalist Meyer Levin. Kline and Levin produced the film. The cinematogra ...
'' (1947) *'' Compulsion'' (1956) *''Eva'' (1959) *'' The Fanatic'' (1964) *'' The Stronghold'' (1965) *''
Gore and Igor Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manitou ...
'' (1968) *''The Settlers'' (1972) *''
The Spell of Time ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'' (1974) *'' The Harvest'' (1978) *''The Architect'' (1981), (fictionalized life of
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...
) *"Classic Chassidic Tales" (1932), a gathering of the scattered legends of Baal Shem Tov


Autobiographical works

*''
In Search IN, In or in may refer to: Places * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Inde ...
'' (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 for The Stronghold *1967: National Jewish Book Award for ''The Story of Israel''


See also

* Gabriel Levin, his son * Tereska Torres, his wife


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 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