Edmund Morris (writer) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Arthur Morris
|
|
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Born | Nairobi, Kenya Colony |
May 27, 1940
Died | May 24, 2019 Danbury, Connecticut, U.S. |
(aged 78)
Occupation | Writer |
Education | Rhodes University |
Subjects | American history |
Notable works |
|
Notable awards | Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography (1980) |
Spouse |
Sylvia Jukes
(m. 1966) |
Arthur Edmund Morris (born May 27, 1940 – died May 24, 2019) was a writer from America and South Africa. He was famous for writing books about U.S. Presidents. His 1979 book, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, won a big award called the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. This book was the first of three books he wrote about President Theodore Roosevelt.
However, Morris also caused some talk with his 1999 book, Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan. This book was unusual because it used made-up parts, even though it was about a real person.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Arthur Morris was born in Nairobi, Kenya. His parents, May and Eric Edmund Morris, were from South Africa. His father was an airline pilot.
Arthur went to school in Kenya, where he had a British-style education. Later, he studied music, art, and literature at Rhodes University in South Africa. In 1961, he left college and started working in a menswear store in Durban. He designed ads and brochures, mostly for the Zulu market. He later said this early job taught him how to make words persuasive.
In 1964, he moved to Britain. He decided not to become a concert pianist. Instead, he worked as a copywriter for an American advertising company in London.
Writing Career
Morris's first book was The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. This book was the first part of a series about the 26th U.S. President. It won the 1980 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. It also won the 1980 National Book Award for biography.
Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan became President of the United States in 1981. He liked Morris's book about Theodore Roosevelt. Some important people suggested that Morris should write President Reagan's official biography. Morris met with Reagan several times between 1981 and 1983. But he was busy with his second Roosevelt book, Theodore Rex.
In 1985, Morris realized how important Reagan had become in history. He signed a big contract to write Reagan's official life story. He made a special deal with the President and First Lady. This deal allowed him to interview them and their children often. He also had special access to the White House. This meant he could observe the government without being part of it. Reagan even let Morris write his biography without trying to control what he wrote.
Morris spent 14 years researching and writing about Reagan's life. He continued to meet the former president after he retired. He also worked a lot at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. He had special access to Reagan's personal papers.
In 1999, Morris published Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan. This book caused a big stir around the world. It was presented as a true story, but it was told by a made-up author named "Arthur Edmund Morris." This imaginary author was born in Chicago in 1912. The actual story of Reagan's life in the book was real and had many notes to prove it. But many critics and readers were upset by the made-up author. They expected a regular biography.
Dutch quickly became a bestseller, reaching No. 2 on the New York Times list. However, most reactions were negative, even though some reviews were good. The book soon fell off the list.
Morris explained in many interviews that his book's unique style was a literary device. He said it showed that Reagan was like an actor. Reagan, he felt, was a mystery to anyone who tried to understand him in a normal way. He was widely liked, but had no close friends. He seemed calm, but had a strong impact. Even though he had a strong personality, he wasn't vain.
Morris believed that Reagan truly came alive when he was "on stage." So, his biographer had to be like an audience. Morris hoped readers would join him in watching "The Ronald Reagan Story." He believed they would see it as a true drama, with every detail about Reagan's life being real.
Later Works
Theodore Rex came out in 2002, after Dutch. This book was a straightforward account of Theodore Roosevelt's time as President (1901–1909). Morris said that Roosevelt was easy to understand, so the author didn't need to add their own thoughts. This book won the 2001 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography.
Three years later, Morris published Beethoven: The Universal Composer. This was a short book about the famous composer. It tried to explain great music in simple language. Colonel Roosevelt, the last book in Morris's Theodore Roosevelt series, was published in 2010. A magazine called City Journal said it was "one of the best biographies in modern literature."
In October 2012, Morris published This Living Hand and Other Essays. This book was a collection of his writings about literature, music, and presidents. His publisher also announced that his next book would be about Thomas Edison. This book was published in October 2019.
Personal Life and Death
Morris wrote many articles about travel and art. These appeared in magazines like The New Yorker and The New York Times. He lived in New York City and Kent, Connecticut. His wife, Sylvia Jukes Morris, was also a biographer. They married in 1966.
Arthur Morris died from a stroke on May 24, 2019, at a hospital in Danbury, Connecticut. He was 78 years old. His wife passed away the following January.