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E. L. Doctorow

イー・エル・ドクトロウ

E. L. Dokutoro(u)

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1931-01-06 （Bronx, New York City, U.S.）
Died
2015-07-21 （Manhattan, New York City, U.S.） age 84
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Judaism
Residence History
Bronx (birthplace) → New Rochelle, New York → Manhattan, New York City

Career

Occupations
Writer, Editor, Professor
Active Years
1952-2015
Affiliations
New American Library (worked as editor), Dial Press (editor-in-chief), New York University (Loretta and Lewis Glucksman Professor), University of California, Irvine (Visiting Writer), Sarah Lawrence College (faculty), Yale School of Drama (faculty), University of Utah (faculty), Princeton University (faculty)
Memberships
American Philosophical Society, American Academy of Arts and Letters
Influenced By
John Crowe Ransom, Edgar Allan Poe (namesake/influence)
Influenced
Contemporary American novelists (influence on historical fiction techniques)

Education

Kenyon College
Philosophy
Degree: BA
Period: 1948–1952
Year of Graduation: 1952
Country: United States
Studied with John Crowe Ransom
Columbia University
English drama (graduate work)
Period: 1952–1953
Year of Graduation: 1953
Country: United States
Completed a year of graduate work (degree not clearly conferred)

Awards

National Book Critics Circle Award
1975
Work: Ragtime
Organization: National Book Critics Circle
Result: 受賞
National Book Award
1986
Work: World's Fair
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 受賞
National Book Critics Circle Award
1990
Work: Billy Bathgate
Organization: National Book Critics Circle
Result: 受賞
PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
1990
Work: Billy Bathgate
Organization: PEN America
Result: 受賞
William Dean Howells Medal
1990
Work: Billy Bathgate
Organization: American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result: 受賞
National Humanities Medal
1998
Organization: National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
Result: 受賞
PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction
2012
Organization: PEN America
Result: 受賞
Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
2013
Category: 生涯業績
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 受賞
American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for Fiction
2013
Organization: American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result: 受賞
Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction
2014
Organization: Library of Congress
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Ragtime

1975 Historical fiction

A multi-voiced ensemble novel set in early 20th-century America that mixes historical figures and fictional characters to explore race, class, and politics.

Intersection of history and fictionAmerican modernizationRace and class
Adaptations
  • [Film] Ragtime (film) / Milos Forman (1981)
  • [Stage (Broadway musical)] Ragtime (musical) (1998)

Billy Bathgate

1989 Historical fiction

The coming-of-age story of Billy, who becomes entangled in gangster society, portraying New York's underworld in the 1920s.

BildungsromanViolence and powerUrban underworld
Adaptations
  • [Film] Billy Bathgate (film) (1991)

The Book of Daniel

1971 Historical fiction

A fictionalized examination of the trial and execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg told through a Russian-Jewish family, exploring politics and familial trauma.

Politics and the individualMemory and trauma
Adaptations
  • [Film] Daniel (film) / Sidney Lumet (1983)

World's Fair

1985 Novel with autobiographical elements

Through childhood memories, it depicts 20th-century America and urban life; a work with strong autobiographical elements reflecting the author's youth.

Memory and coming-of-ageCity and modernity

The March

2005 Historical fiction

Focusing on General Sherman's march during the American Civil War, it explores war, emancipation, and social change from multiple perspectives.

War and transformationEmancipation and reconstruction

Homer & Langley

2009 Historical fiction / Biographical elements

A quiet novel centered on two brothers of the Collyer family, depicting American change and eccentricity through the 20th century.

Solitude and obsessionUrban transformation

Bibliography

  • Welcome to Hard Times (1960)
  • Big As Life (1966)
  • The Book of Daniel (1971)
  • Ragtime (1975)
  • Loon Lake (1980)
  • World's Fair (1985)
  • Billy Bathgate (1989)
  • The Waterworks (1994)
  • City of God (2000)
  • The March (2005)
  • Homer & Langley (2009)
  • Andrew's Brain (2014)

Adaptations

  • Ragtime (film & musical)
  • Billy Bathgate (film)
  • Daniel (film)
  • Wakefield (film)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Multi-voiced narration blending historical fact and fictionVaried narrative voices and experimental structures
Recurring Motifs
Overlap of past and presentUrban landscapesFamily and collective memory

Health

  • Lung cancer
    晩年（2010年代）
    Suffered from lung cancer late in life, underwent treatment and died in 2015.

Legacy

Doctorow was acclaimed for his distinctive blending of history and fiction, significantly influencing American literature from the late 20th to the early 21st century. He won multiple major literary awards and saw many works adapted for film and stage.

Museums

  • Fales Library (E. L. Doctorow papers) New York University, New York City Opened in 2001

Academic Societies

  • American Philosophical Society
  • American Academy of Arts and Letters

Archives

  • Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University (Doctorow papers)

In Popular Culture

  • Ragtime film adaptation and Broadway musical
  • Film adaptations of Billy Bathgate and other works

Quotes

  • “I was a child who read everything I could get my hands on. Eventually, I asked of a story not only what was to happen next, but how is this done? ... And so I became a writer.”
    Source: Interview (quoted)

Trivia

  • Born Edgar Lawrence Doctorow; named after Edgar Allan Poe.
  • Early novel Big As Life remained out of print by the author's choice until any revision.
  • A native of New York City; his work frequently features motifs of city and memory.