Ross Lockridge, Jr.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ross F. Lockridge, Jr.

Lockridge in 1947
Born April 25, 1914(1914-04-25)
Bloomington, Indiana
Died March 6, 1948 (aged 33)
Bloomington, Indiana
Occupation novelist
Nationality Flag of the United States American
Writing period 1948
Genres historical fiction
Notable work(s) Raintree County

Ross F. Lockridge, Jr., (April 25, 1914March 6, 1948) was an American novelist of the middle of the twentieth century. He is most noted for his expansive novel, Raintree County, often considered to be one of the "Great American Novels."

Lockridge was born in Bloomington, Indiana, United States and grew up there. Lockridge attended Indiana University in 1931, graduating in 1935 with the highest average in the history of the university. Lockridge married and had four children. His novel Raintree County was published in early 1948, to great critical acclaim. It illustrates the 19th century history of a typical midwestern county through the reminiscences of its main character, John Wickliff Shawnessy.

Suffering from severe depression, Lockridge committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning shortly after the novel's publication. His grave is in Rose Hill Cemetery in Bloomington.

[edit] References

  • Lockridge, Larry. Shade of the Raintree: The Life and Death of Ross Lockridge, Jr. New York: Viking Penguin (1994). ISBN 0670854409

[edit] External links