Ella Leffland (born November 25, 1931) is an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

and

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

writer. Highly regarded by other writers, her novels demonstrate stunning mastery of the techniques of realistic fiction; but Leffland uses her facility to illuminate characters whose imaginative lives are rich and often strange. The settings of most of her works are in northern California, where she grew up; she is perhaps best known for her semi-autobiographical novel ''Rumors of Peace'' (1979; reprinted as a "rediscovered classic" in 2011) about a girl coming of age during World War II. The fascination with personal and social evil that Leffland explores in ''Rumors of Peace'' emerges powerfully in her ambitious historical novel based on the life of

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...

, ''

Knight, Death and the Devil ''Knight, Death and the Devil'' (german: Ritter, Tod und Teufel) is a large 1513 engraving by the German artist Albrecht Dürer, one of the three ''Meisterstiche'' (master prints) completed during a period when he almost ceased to work in paint ...

'', published in 1990.

Biography

Leffland was born and raised in

Martinez, California Martinez ( Spanish: ''Martínez'') is a city and the county seat of Contra Costa County, California, United States, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Located on the southern shore of the Carquinez Strait, the city's popul ...

. She attended

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

. Her story "Last Courtesies", published in '' Harper's Magazine'', won an

O. Henry Award The O. Henry Award is an annual American award given to short stories of exceptional merit. The award is named after the American short-story writer O. Henry. The ''PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories'' is an annual collection of the year's twenty best ...

First Prize in 1977. She has written five novels and a collection of short stories, including ''

Mrs. Munck ''Mrs. Munck'' is a 1995 American comedy film written and directed by Diane Ladd. It is based on the 1970 novel ''Mrs. Munck'' by Ella Leffland. The film stars Diane Ladd, Bruce Dern, Kelly Preston, Shelley Winters, Jim Walton and Scott Fisher. ...

'' (1970), a gothic tale of a woman's vengeance on the man who abandoned her decades before, made into a film adapted, directed, and starring Diane Ladd). She has also written book reviews for ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

''. Leffland won the 2014

Gina Berriault Gina Berriault (January 1, 1926 – July 15, 1999), was an American novelist and short story writer. Biography Berriault was born in Long Beach, California, to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents. Her father was a freelance writer and Berriault took ...

Award from Fourteen Hills Review at San Francisco State University. Leffland resides and continues to write in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

.HarperCollins Web site (accessed 15 January 2006
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Bibliography

* ''

'' (1970) * '' Love Out of Season'' (1974) * '' Rumors of Peace'' (1979) * '' Last Courtesies and Other Stories'' (1980) * '' The Knight, Death and the Devil'' (1990) * '' Breath and Shadows'' (1999)

References

External links

*Reading group guide to '' Breath and Shadows'

*''New York Times'' book reviews of '' Knight, Death and the Devil'' by

Thomas Keneally Thomas Michael Keneally, AO (born 7 October 1935) is an Australian novelist, playwright, essayist, and actor. He is best known for his non-fiction novel ''Schindler's Ark'', the story of Oskar Schindler's rescue of Jews during the Holocaust, wh ...

"The Fuhrer's Right-Hand Man"
and by

Herbert Mitgang Herbert Mitgang (January 20, 1920 – November 21, 2013) was an American author, editor, journalist, playwright, and producer of television news documentaries. Life Born in Manhattan, he graduated with a law degree from what is now St. John's Uni ...

"The Life and Times of Goring, as Fiction"
*Ella Leffland speaking for

Oral History project *Writers without Computers: Ella Leffland by Sarah Broderic

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leffland, Ella 1931 births Living people 20th-century American novelists American women novelists American women short story writers O. Henry Award winners People from Martinez, California Writers from San Francisco San Jose State University alumni 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American short story writers Novelists from California 21st-century American women