E. L. Doctorow facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
E. L. Doctorow
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Doctorow in 2014
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| Born | Edgar Lawrence Doctorow January 6, 1931 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | July 21, 2015 (aged 84) New York City, U.S. |
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Helen Esther Setzer
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| Children | 3 |
Edgar Lawrence Doctorow (born January 6, 1931 – died July 21, 2015) was an American writer, editor, and teacher. He was famous for his historical fiction novels. These stories often mixed made-up characters with real people and events from history.
Doctorow wrote many books, including twelve novels and several short story collections. Some of his most famous award-winning novels are Ragtime (1975), Billy Bathgate (1989), and The March (2005). People admired his stories for being original and imaginative.
Many of Doctorow's books were made into movies and even a musical. For example, Ragtime became a movie in 1981 and a Broadway musical in 1998. The musical won four Tony Awards. Former President Barack Obama called him "one of America's greatest novelists."
Contents
Growing Up: Edgar Doctorow's Early Life
Edgar Lawrence Doctorow was born on January 6, 1931, in the Bronx, a part of New York City. His parents were second-generation Americans from a Russian Jewish background. They named him after the famous writer Edgar Allan Poe. His father owned a small music shop.
He went to public schools in the city. At the Bronx High School of Science, he joined the school's literary magazine, Dynamo. This is where he published his first writings. He also took a journalism class to get more chances to write.
Doctorow then went to Kenyon College in Ohio, where he studied philosophy. After graduating in 1952, he studied English drama at Columbia University for a year. Then, he was drafted into the United States Army. From 1954 to 1955, he served as a corporal in West Germany.
After his military service, Doctorow returned to New York. He worked as a reader for a movie company. Reading many Westerns gave him the idea for his first novel, Welcome to Hard Times. It started as a funny take on Western stories but turned into a serious one. It was published in 1960 and received good reviews.
When asked how he decided to become a writer, he said he loved reading. He started wondering how stories were made and how words could make him feel like he was living the story. That's how he became a writer.
A Writer's Journey: Doctorow's Career
To support his family, Doctorow worked as a book editor for nine years. He worked at New American Library and later became editor-in-chief at Dial Press. He helped publish books by famous writers like James Baldwin and Norman Mailer.
In 1969, Doctorow left editing to focus on writing full-time. He became a visiting writer at the University of California, Irvine. There, he finished The Book of Daniel (1971). This book was a fictional story about the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were accused of giving nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union during the Cold War. This book was highly praised and helped him become a top American writer.
His next book, Ragtime (1975), was written in his home in New Rochelle, New York. It was later named one of the 100 best novels of the 20th century. Other award-winning novels include World's Fair (1985), Billy Bathgate (1989), and The March (2005). He also wrote essays and short stories.
Doctorow was known for his unique way of writing historical fiction. He would mix real historical figures with made-up characters in his stories. For example, in Ragtime, he imagined Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung riding together at Coney Island.
Even though he did a lot of research for his books, his stories felt very real and alive. He showed that the past is still important today. He believed that understanding history helps us avoid making the same mistakes.
Life and Legacy: Personal Details and Death
In 1954, Doctorow married Helen Esther Setzer while he was serving in the U.S. Army. They had three children together.
Doctorow also taught at several universities, including New York University, where he was a professor of English and American Letters. In 2001, he gave his writings and papers to the Fales Library at New York University. The library's director called him "one of the most important American novelists of the 20th century."
E. L. Doctorow passed away from lung cancer on July 21, 2015, in Manhattan, New York, at the age of 84. He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.
Awards and Recognitions
Doctorow received many awards for his writing throughout his career. Here are some of them:
- 1975: National Book Critics Circle Award for Ragtime
- 1986: National Book Award for World's Fair
- 1990: National Book Critics Circle Award for Billy Bathgate
- 1990: PEN/Faulkner Award for Billy Bathgate
- 1998: National Humanities Medal
- 2005: National Book Critics Circle Award for The March
- 2006: PEN/Faulkner Award for The March
- 2012: Inducted into the New York State Writers Hall of Fame
- 2013: Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
- 2013: American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for Fiction
- 2014: Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction
Doctorow's Published Works
Novels
- 1960: Welcome to Hard Times – later made into a 1967 film
- 1966: Big As Life
- 1971: The Book of Daniel – a historical fiction novel, made into a 1983 film
- 1975: Ragtime – made into a 1981 film and a 1998 Broadway musical
- 1980: Loon Lake
- 1985: World's Fair
- 1989: Billy Bathgate – made into a 1991 film
- 1994: The Waterworks
- 2000: City of God
- 2005: The March
- 2009: Homer & Langley
- 2014: Andrew's Brain
Short Story Collections
- 1984: Lives of the Poets: Six Stories and a Novella
- 2004: Sweet Land Stories
- 2011: All the Time in the World: New And Selected Stories
Plays
- 1978: Drinks Before Dinner
Other Writings
- 1993: Jack London, Hemingway and the Constitution (a collection of essays)
- 2006: Creationists (another essay collection)
- 2008: "Wakefield" (a short story published in The New Yorker)
See also
In Spanish: E. L. Doctorow para niños
