Robert Bernard Martin (1918–1999) was an American scholar and biographer, specializing in

Victorian literature Victorian literature refers to English literature during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901). The 19th century is considered by some to be the Golden Age of English Literature, especially for British novels. It was in the Victorian era tha ...

. Pseudonym Robert Bernard

Life

Robert Bernard Martin was born September 11, 1918, in La Harpe, Illinois, to Carl and Maggie Martin. He graduated from high school in Davenport and received his A.B. summa cum laude from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 co ...

in 1943. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army Air Forces in Italy and France. He was Professor of English at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

from 1951 to 1975, when he retired to Oxford. Martin published several books about the Victorian era, including biographies of

Alfred Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

Gerard Manley Hopkins Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame placed him among leading Victorian poets. His prosody – notably his concept of sprung rhythm – established him as an innova ...

and Edward Fitzgerald. His life of Tennyson won the

James Tait Black Award The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Uni ...

and the

Duff Cooper Prize The Duff Cooper Prize is a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of history, biography, political science or occasionally poetry, published in English or French. The prize was established in honour of Duff Cooper, a British diplomat, Ca ...

. In addition to his scholarly works, Martin also published one clever and humorous mystery entitled Deadly Meeting. Presumably, to avoid confusing his academic readers, he wrote this under the name of Robert Bernard. Deadly Meeting centers on the ongoing difficulties of operating the English Department at small (imaginary) Wilton University in New England ultimately leading to the murder of one of the professors. Perhaps the most endearing character is the victim's visiting replacement- Dame Millicent Hetherege- a retired Oxford professor of medieval literature, particularly enamored of maximal salary and good scotch whisky who, of course, plays an essential part in the mystery's solution.

Works

* ''The Triumph of Wit: Study of Victorian Comic Theory'', (1974) * ''Tennyson: The Unquiet Heart'', (1980) * ''With Friends Possessed: A Life of Edward Fitzgerald'', (1985) * ''The Accents of Persuasion: Charlotte Bronte's Novels'' * ''Enter Rumour'', (Four Early Victorian Scandals) * ''The Dust of Combat'' (A Life of Charles Kingsley) * ''Victorian poetry; ten major poets'' * ''Gerard Manley Hopkins: A Very Private Life'', (1991) * ''Deadly Meeting'' (1970) by Robert Bernard

References

1918 births 1999 deaths People from Hancock County, Illinois 20th-century American biographers Historians from Illinois United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II University of Iowa alumni Princeton University faculty {{US-bio-writer-stub