Robert T. Westbrook (born December 24, 1945, New York City) is an American writer. He was born to columnist

Sheilah Graham Sheilah Graham (born Lily Shiel; 15 September 1904 – 17 November 1988) was a British-born, nationally syndicated American gossip columnist during Hollywood's "Golden Age". In her youth, she had been a showgirl and a freelance writer for Flee ...

. Westbrook was raised in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

until his teen years, when his mother moved Robert and Wendy to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Robert attended the progressive

Putney School The Putney School is an independent high school in Putney, Vermont. The school was founded in 1935 by Carmelita Hinton on the principles of the Progressive Education movement and the teachings of its principal exponent, John Dewey. It is a co-ed ...

and Columbia College.

Early career

After a summer trip to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, Westbrook wrote his first book at age 17, ''Journey Behind the Iron Curtain'', which was published in 1963 by

G.P. Putnam's Sons G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group. History The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam and ...

. In the 1960s, when he was 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 ...

, he was inspired to write his first novel, ''

The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart ''The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart'' is a 1970 American film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) about a confused college student's experiences with sex, relationships, and drugs in late 1960s New York City. Produced by Martin Poll and directe ...

'', published by

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

in 1970. The novel became an

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

film, with an actor named

Don Johnson Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series ''Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Em ...

in the title role. The film was praised by

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

for its depiction of the New York

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...

scene of the late 1960s. In the 1980s, while living with his family in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, Westbrook began a handful of satirical mysteries set in 1950s

. In 1988, Westbrook was living in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

when his mother, Sheilah Graham, died on November 17 in

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intracoas ...

, of

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

. She left him her papers and directed him to tell her story. He did so, detailing his mother's romance with Fitzgerald. He included many details omitted from Graham's best-selling 1958 memoir, ''

Beloved Infidel ''Beloved Infidel'' is a 1959 DeLuxe Color biographical drama film made by 20th Century Fox in CinemaScope and based on the relationship of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Sheilah Graham. The film was directed by Henry King and produced by Jerry Wald ...

''. Published 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 Cor ...

in 1995, The American magazine ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' considered ''Intimate Lies'' a valuable contribution to the literature on Fitzgerald and Graham.

Books

The Torch Singer Trilogy

*''Book One: An Overnight Sensation'', Swan's Nest Canada hardcover, paperback, ebook (2014) *''Book Two: An Almost Perfect Ending'', Swan's Nest Canada hardcover, paperback, ebook (2014)

Non-fiction

*''Intimate Lies''

(1995), republished, Speaking Volumes, paperback, ebook (2018)

Early works

*''Journey Behind the Iron Curtain'',

(1963) *''The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart'',

(1970)

Left Handed Police Man Mysteries

*''The Left Handed Police Man'',

(1986)

Warner Books Grand Central Publishing is a book publishing imprint of Hachette Book Group, originally established in 1970 as Warner Books when Warner Communications acquired the Paperback Library. When Time Warner sold their book publishing business to Hachett ...

paperback (1987), republished, Speaking Volumes, paperback, ebook (2018) *''Nostalgia Kills''

(1988), republished, Speaking Volumes, paperback, ebook (2018) *''Lady Left''

(1990), republished, Speaking Volumes, paperback, ebook (2018) *''Rich Kids'' Birchlane (1992)

Howard Moon Deer Mysteries

*''Ghost Dancer'' Signet (1998), republished, Speaking Volumes, paperback, ebook (2017) *''Warrior Circle'' Signet (1999), republished, Speaking Volumes, paperback, ebook (2017) *''Red Moon'' Signet (2000), republished, Speaking Volumes, paperback, ebook (2017) *''Ancient Enemy'' Signet (2001), republished, Speaking Volumes (2018) "Turquoise Lady" Speaking Volumes, paperback, ebook (2019) "Blue Moon," Speaking Volumes, paperback, ebook (2020)

Novels based on screenplays

*''

The Mexican ''The Mexican'' is a 2001 American dark comedy adventure crime film directed by Gore Verbinski and stars Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt in lead roles. Its plot is a mixture of different genres. Plot In Los Angeles, a traffic light changes to red a ...

'' Signet (2001), from the film starring

Julia Roberts Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles in films encompassing a variety of genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and thr ...

and

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...

*''

Insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...

'' Signet (2002), from the mystery thriller starring

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received numerous accolades: including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy ...

and

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

*'' The Final Cut'' (2004), adapted from the sci-fi thriller with

and

Mira Sorvino Mira Katherine Sorvino (; born September 28, 1967) is an American actress. She won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Woody Allen's ''Mighty Aphrodite'' (1995). She also starred in the films ...

*''The Saudi Connection'' (2006) Jack Anderson and Robert Westbrook Tor/Forge

Sources

External links

Westbrook Author Biography

Synopses of ''Intimate Lies'' with biographical info

Jewish Women's Archive article on Sheilah Graham by daughter Wendy Fairey

External links

Robert Westbrook page on Amazon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Westbrook, Robert T. Living people 1945 births Columbia College (New York) alumni Writers from Los Angeles Writers from New York City American male writers American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Jewish American writers The Putney School alumni 21st-century American Jews