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Evan S. Connell

エヴァン・エス・コネル

Evan S. Connell

Pen Names: Evan S. Connell Jr.（Used in some publications and formal listings）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1924-08-17 （Kansas City, Missouri, United States）
Died
2013-01-10 （Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States） age 88
Nationality
American
Languages
English
Residence History
Kansas City, Missouri (birth & childhood) → San Francisco, California (1954–1989) → Sausalito, California (1954–1989) → Santa Fe, New Mexico (1989–2013)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Novelist, Short-story writer, Essayist, Poet, Non-fiction / historian
Active Years
1957-2013
Nominations
2009 Man Booker International Prize nomination (lifetime achievement)

Education

Dartmouth College
Period: 1941–1943（中退）
Country: United States
Entered in 1941; left in 1943 to become a U.S. Navy pilot
University of Kansas
English
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1945–1947
Year of Graduation: 1947
Country: United States
Received a B.A. in English in 1947
Columbia University (studied creative writing)
Creative writing
Period: 不明
Country: United States
Studied creative writing; exact years and degree unclear
Stanford University (studied creative writing)
Creative writing
Period: 不明
Country: United States
Attended creative-writing programs; details unclear

Awards

Robert Kirsch Award (Los Angeles Times)
2010
Organization: Los Angeles Times
Result: 受賞
Man Booker International Prize (nomination)
2009
Work: Lifetime achievement
Organization: Man Booker International Prize committee
Result: ノミネート（短縮リスト入り/候補）
National Book Award (finalist)
1959
Work: Mrs. Bridge
Category: フィクション
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 最終候補
National Book Award (finalist)
1974
Work: Points for a Compass Rose
Category: 詩
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 最終候補

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Mrs. Bridge

1959 Fiction (novel)

A linked-episode novel portraying Mrs. Bridge, an upper-middle-class housewife, and her family's emotional distance and constrained lives in mid-20th-century Kansas City.

FamilyMiddle-class lifeEmotional distanceSocial expectations
Adaptations
  • [Film] Mr. and Mrs. Bridge / James Ivory (1990)

Mr. Bridge

1969 Fiction (novel)

Companion to Mrs. Bridge, this novel examines the husband’s perspective and the values and emotional emptiness of an upper-middle-class family.

MasculinityPatriarchyLonelinessConventions

Son of the Morning Star

1984 Non-fiction (history)

A sweeping account of George Armstrong Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn; critically acclaimed and a bestseller.

American West historyMilitary historyReevaluation of heroism
Adaptations
  • [Television (miniseries)] Son of the Morning Star (TV miniseries) (1991)

The Patriot

1960 Fiction (novel)

Follows Melvin Isaacs, a 17-year-old in naval aviation school, portraying the rigors of training and his struggles during wartime.

WarComing of ageFailure / struggle

Bibliography

  • Mrs. Bridge (1959)
  • The Patriot (1960)
  • The Diary of a Rapist (1966)
  • Mr. Bridge (1969)
  • The Connoisseur (1974)
  • Double Honeymoon (1976)
  • The Anatomy Lesson (1957)
  • At The Crossroads (1965)
  • Saint Augustine's Pigeon: The Selected Stories of Evan S. Connell (1982)
  • The Collected Stories of Evan S. Connell (1995)
  • Lost in Uttar Pradesh (2008)
  • A Long Desire: Essays (1979)
  • White Lantern: Essays (1981)
  • Son of the Morning Star: Custer and the Little Bighorn (1985)
  • The Alchymist's Journal (1991; republished 2006 as Alchymic Journals)
  • Deus Lo Volt!: A Chronicle of the Crusades (2000)
  • The Aztec Treasure House: New and Selected Essays (2001)
  • Francisco Goya: A Life (2004)
  • Notes From A Bottle Found on the Beach at Carmel (1962)
  • Points for A Compass Rose (1973)

Adaptations

  • Mr. and Mrs. Bridge (1990 film)
  • Son of the Morning Star (1991 TV miniseries)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Concise, restrained proseSatirical and sharply observant descriptionGenre-crossing versatility (novels, poetry, non-fiction)
Recurring Motifs
Domestic emptinessMiddle-class norms and repressionReassessment of American West and heroic narrativesLoneliness and alienation

Legacy

Evan S. Connell is noted for his keen observation and genre-spanning work. He balanced literary acclaim and popular success with works such as the Mrs. Bridge novels and Son of the Morning Star. His lifetime achievement was internationally recognized, including the Los Angeles Times Robert Kirsch Award.

In Popular Culture

  • Mr. and Mrs. Bridge was adapted into a 1990 film starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.
  • Son of the Morning Star was adapted into a TV miniseries that received multiple Emmy Awards and drew public attention.

Quotes

  • A writer of fine style and amazing variety.
    Source: Dorothy Parker (commonly cited attribution)

Trivia

  • He never married.
  • Grew up in the Country Club District of Kansas City.
  • Lived in San Francisco and Sausalito (1954–1989), then moved to Santa Fe.
  • Mrs. Bridge was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1959.
  • Points for a Compass Rose was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1974.
  • Nominated for the Man Booker International Prize (lifetime achievement) in 2009.
  • Received the Los Angeles Times Robert Kirsch Award in 2010.