William Martin is an American author of historical novels, a native of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, MA.

Biography

William Martin grew up in

West Roxbury West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts bordered by Roslindale and Jamaica Plain to the northeast, the town of Brookline to the north, the cities and towns of Newton and Needham to the northwest and the town of Dedham to the ...

and

Roslindale Roslindale is a primarily residential neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, bordered by Jamaica Plain, Hyde Park, West Roxbury and Mattapan. It is served by an MBTA Commuter Rail line, several MBTA bus lines and the MBTA Orange Line in nearby J ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, and graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1972 where he majored in English. He worked as an historical research assistant and directed theater in the evening. He went into construction to raise money to move to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

and then studied motion pictures at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. Martin wrote two screenplays in an effort to get into the writing business. Producers and his agent suggested that, to best take advantage of his writing style, Martin should write a novel. Based on the outline of his first novel, Martin obtained a $7,500 publishing deal. The book, ''Back Bay'', was published in 1979 and reached the

New York Times bestseller list ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

. William Martin has continued to write historical novels and currently lives in

Weston, Massachusetts Weston is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, about 15 miles west of Boston. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, the population of Weston was 11,851. Weston was incorporated in 1713, and protectio ...

(near

) with his wife, two sons and a daughter.

Bibliography

Peter Fallon series

*''Back Bay'' (1979) *''Harvard Yard'' (2003), Grand Central Publishing (December 1, 2004), *''The Lost Constitution'' (2007), Forge Books (June 2008), *''City of Dreams'' (2010), Forge Books (May 11, 2010), *''The Lincoln Letter'' (2012), Forge Books, *''Bound for Gold'' (2019), Forge Books,

Other novels

*''Nerve Endings'' (1984) *''The Rising of the Moon'' (1987) *''Cape Cod'' (1991) *''Annapolis'' (1996) *''Citizen Washington'' (1999) *''December '41'' (2022)

Awards

* 2005 New England Book Award

External links

Macmillan Books: Author: William Martin"The Lost Constitution" on books.google.comWilliam Martin books at amazon.comOfficial Facebook fan page of author William Martin
20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists Novelists from Boston Harvard University alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni Living people 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Year of birth missing (living people) People from Roslindale People from Weston, Massachusetts People from West Roxbury, Boston {{US-novelist-stub