Frederick Robert Karl (1927–2004) was a

literary biographer When studying literature, biography and its relationship to literature is often a subject of literary criticism, and is treated in several different forms. Two scholarly approaches use biography or biographical approaches to the past as a tool for ...

, best known for his work on

Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...

, a literary critic, and an editor. He spent 25 years teaching at

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

and then followed with 18 years at New York University.

Biography

Karl was born in Brooklyn in 1927. He served in the United States Navy and received his B.A. from Columbia College in 1948. He then earned a master's degree from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

before receiving his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1957. He taught at CCNY from 1957 to 1982 and NYU until 2000, when he retired. His first work, ''A Reader's Guide to Great 20th-Century English Novels'', discussed writers such as E. M. Forster,

D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...

, Virginia Woolf and

. He went on to write extensive biographies about

Conrad Conrad may refer to: People * Conrad (name) Places United States * Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Iowa, a city * Conrad, Montana, a city * Conrad Glacier, Washington ...

, William Faulkner, Franz Kafka, and George Eliot. He also edited a multi-volume series, ''Biography and Source Studies'', and co-edited a volume of letters between Conrad and Laurence Davies. In 1968, he signed the “ Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War. Karl received a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

in 1965.

Books

*''A Reader's Guide to Great 20th-Century English Novels'' (1959) *''Joseph Conrad: The Three Lives'' (

Farrar Straus Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer ...

, 1979) *''American Fictions, 1940-1980: A Comprehensive History & Critical Evaluation'' ( HarperCollins 1983) *''William Faulkner: American Writer'' ( Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1989) *''Franz Kafka: Representative Man'' ( Ticknor & Fields, 1991) *''George Eliot -- Voice of a Century: A Biography'' (

W. W. Norton W. W. Norton & Company is an American publishing company based in New York City. Established in 1923, it has been owned wholly by its employees since the early 1960s. The company is known for its Norton Anthologies (particularly ''The Norton Ant ...

, 1995) *''American Fictions: 1980-2000: Whose America Is It Anyway?'' ( Xlibris, 2001) *''A Chronicle of Wasted Time: America in the Seventies'' (Xlibris, 2002) *''Art Into Life'' (

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan ...

, 2005)

References

External links

Frederick Robert Karl papers
at the University of South Carolina Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. 1927 births 2004 deaths American male biographers American tax resisters 20th-century American biographers 20th-century male writers City College of New York faculty New York University faculty 20th-century American male writers Columbia College (New York) alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Stanford University alumni {{US-bio-writer-stub