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J. C. Furnas

ジョセフ・チェンバレン・ファーナス

Joseph Chamberlain Furnas

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1905-11-24 （Indianapolis, Indiana, United States）
Died
2001-06-03 （Stanton (Readington Township), New Jersey, United States） age 95
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Quaker
Residence History
Indianapolis, Indiana (birthplace) → Stanton, New Jersey (later residence)

Career

Occupations
writer, non-fiction writer, freelance writer, social historian, war correspondent
Active Years
1930-2001

Education

Harvard University
Country: United States
Known to have been educated at Harvard University; specific faculty/department and graduation year are not specified in available sources.

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

"---And Sudden Death!"

article (magazine)

An article commissioned for Reader's Digest that drew national attention to automobile safety issues; reported to be the most-reprinted article in the Digest's history.

automobile safetypublic awarenesspublic policy

The Americans

social history

Part of a social-history trilogy covering the United States from 1570 to 1914.

American historysocial historycultural change

Great Times

social history

A volume of the trilogy covering American society from 1914 to 1929.

interwar periodsocial changepolitical economy

Stormy Weather: Crosslights on the 1930s

social history

The third volume of the trilogy, dealing with the 1930s from the stock market crash to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Great Depression1930ssocio-political issues

The Life and Times of the Late Demon Rum

social history (temperance movement study)

Covers the temperance movement and the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment; examines leaders of the movement without glossing over their virtues or shortcomings.

temperance movementhistory of social movementscultural analysis

The Road to Harper's Ferry

history / biography

An account of John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, delving into the lives and motivations of the 'Secret Six' who supported him.

slavery and rebellionAmerican historypolitical activism

Goodbye to Uncle Tom

cultural history / literary criticism

Examines how Uncle Tom's Cabin, as a novel and through its stage adaptations, shaped American attitudes toward African Americans and slavery.

race issuesliterature and societyrepresentation

Biography of Robert Louis Stevenson

biography

A biographical work on the life and works of Robert Louis Stevenson.

biographyliterary historyconnections to the Pacific

Autobiography (title unspecified)

autobiography

In his autobiography he documents the truth behind Lillian Hellman's short story 'Julia', connecting it to Muriel Gardiner, a friend of Furnas's wife.

memoirliterary investigationcultural controversy

Bibliography

  • The Americans
  • Great Times
  • Stormy Weather: Crosslights on the 1930s
  • The Life and Times of the Late Demon Rum
  • The Road to Harper's Ferry
  • Goodbye to Uncle Tom
  • Biography of Robert Louis Stevenson
  • Autobiography (title unspecified)
  • Article "---And Sudden Death!"

Style & Themes

Literary Style
journalistic, explanatory prosewry humor and ironyaccessible social-historical narrative
Recurring Motifs
broad views of American societyimpact of social movements and policyexamination of race, culture and morality

Legacy

J. C. Furnas is known as a mid-20th-century American writer and social historian who wrote accessibly and critically about American life. He gained wide attention for his Reader's Digest article on automobile safety and is regarded as effective at bringing social issues to a general readership.

Trivia

  • His Reader's Digest article "---And Sudden Death!" is reported to be the most-reprinted article in the magazine's history.
  • He is credited with uncovering the truth behind Lillian Hellman's short story "Julia" and documented the matter in his autobiography.
  • During World War II he served as a war correspondent; his age, poor vision and Quaker background kept him from military service.