Robert Egerton Swartwout (July 2, 1905 – June 2, 1951) was an American-born writer, poet, cartoonist, and coxswain. He was the only son of American architect

Egerton Swartwout Egerton Swartwout (March 3, 1870 – February 18, 1943) was an American architect, most notably associated with his New York City architectural firm Tracy and Swartwout and McKim, Mead & White. His buildings, numbering over 100, were typical ...

and British-born Geraldine Davenport Swartwout. He drew from his rowing experience to produce a

locked room mystery The "locked-room" or "impossible crime" mystery is a type of crime seen in crime and detective fiction. The crime in question, typically murder ("locked-room murder"), is committed in circumstances under which it appeared impossible for the perpetr ...

about

The Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. There are separate men's ...

and many poems.

Rowing

Swartwout rowed and coxed for Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts, from which he graduated on June 13, 1924. While attending

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

he became the first American to cox

Cambridge University Boat Club The Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC) is the rowing club of the University of Cambridge, England. The club was founded in 1828 and has been located at the Goldie Boathouse on the River Cam, Cambridge since 1882. Nowadays, training primarily ...

to victory over Oxford in 1930. Swartwout was 5' 6", weighed , and possessed a powerful bass voice.

Writing

At Trinity College he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1928, followed by a master's degree in Literature in 1931; that same year he was president of the

Cambridge University Liberal Club Cambridge University Liberal Association (CULA) is the student branch of the Liberal Democrats for students at Cambridge University. It is the successor to the Cambridge Student Liberal Democrats, which in turn was formed from the merger of Cam ...

. Swartwout was a member and debater with the

Cambridge Union Society The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1815, it is the oldest continuously running debatin ...

. Under the pen name R.E. Swartwout he contributed to ''

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and ma ...

'' and ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'', as well as crosswords for ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

''. He wrote a short Holmesian piece entitled "The Omnibus Murder" and wrote four books: *''Rhymes of the River and other verses'', by R.E. Swartwout, W. Heffer and Sons Limited, Cambridge, 1927 *''The Monastic Craftsman: An Inquiry into the Services of Monks to Art in Britain and in Europe North of the Alps in the Middle Ages'', by R.E. Swartwout, M.Litt. of Trinity College, Cambridge, Cambridge, W. Heffer and Sons Ltd, 1932 *''The Boat Race Murder'', by R.E. Swartwout, Grayson and Grayson Ltd., Curzon Street, Mayfair, London, 1933. This book from the Cambridge Crime series has been reissued by Ostara Publishing. *''It Might Have Happened. A sketch of the later career of Rupert Lister Audenard, First Earl of Slype, etc.'' political fantasy based on the imaginary extension of the life of Lord Randolph Churchill by R. Egerton Swartwout, W. Heffer and Sons Cambridge, 1934 In 1931 Swartwout wrote the introduction to ''Sir William Schwenck Gilbert A Topsy Turvy Adventure'', by Townley Searle, London: Alexander-Ouseley, Ltd., 1931.

Personal

Robert Swartwout became a British subject on June 9, 1933.

Death

Swartwout died unmarried in Hartismere Hospital, Eye, Suffolk, England on June 6, 1951, of esophageal cancer complicated by pulmonary tuberculosis at the age of 45.Certified copy of entry of death, Hartismere in the county of Suffolk, subdistrict of Eye and Stradbroke, 1951, DYD 205600, application number 3828567-1

References

External links