Berry Fleming
Encyclopedia
Berry Fleming was an American novelist. He is best known for his 1943 novel Colonel Effingham's Raid
.
and lived in that city for most of his life. In 1922 he graduated from Harvard University
and in 1923 he worked as a reporter for an Augusta Newspaper. In 1924 he moved to New York City to pursue his career as a writer. His first novel, The Conqueror's Stone, was published in 1927. He enjoyed a considerable amount of success with a series of novels in the 1930s and 1940s which culminated in his 1943 work Colonel Effingham's Raid
. Afterword his popularity dwindled, and he abandoned writing for nearly two decades after the publication of The Fortune Tellers in 1951. He resumed his work as a novelist with 1973's The Make Believers, but struggled to regain an audience. He received a resurgence in popularity with the publication of his last novel Captain Bennett's Folly in 1989 just months before his death. The work was favorably reviewed in The New York Times
among other publications, and since then many of his earlier neglected novels have been republished with more successful sales than during his lifetime.
In the early 1930's Fleming and his wife spent 18 months living in France. They then returned to New York for a few years before returning to Augusta in 1938 where Fleming maintained his home for the rest of his life. For several years he maintained a weekly column in a Georgia newspaper. He also contributed articles to several magazines during his career, including the British satirical magazine Punch
. He died of cancer in Augusta at the age of 90 and is buried in the Summerville Cemetery
. His daughter was the late music critic and editor Shirley Fleming
.
Colonel Effingham's Raid
Colonel Effingham's Raid is a 1946 comedy film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Irving Pichel. The screenplay was written by Kathryn Scola, based on a novel by Berry Fleming. The music score is by Cyril J. Mockridge...
.
Life and career
Fleming was born in Augusta, GeorgiaAugusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
and lived in that city for most of his life. In 1922 he graduated from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and in 1923 he worked as a reporter for an Augusta Newspaper. In 1924 he moved to New York City to pursue his career as a writer. His first novel, The Conqueror's Stone, was published in 1927. He enjoyed a considerable amount of success with a series of novels in the 1930s and 1940s which culminated in his 1943 work Colonel Effingham's Raid
Colonel Effingham's Raid
Colonel Effingham's Raid is a 1946 comedy film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Irving Pichel. The screenplay was written by Kathryn Scola, based on a novel by Berry Fleming. The music score is by Cyril J. Mockridge...
. Afterword his popularity dwindled, and he abandoned writing for nearly two decades after the publication of The Fortune Tellers in 1951. He resumed his work as a novelist with 1973's The Make Believers, but struggled to regain an audience. He received a resurgence in popularity with the publication of his last novel Captain Bennett's Folly in 1989 just months before his death. The work was favorably reviewed in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
among other publications, and since then many of his earlier neglected novels have been republished with more successful sales than during his lifetime.
In the early 1930's Fleming and his wife spent 18 months living in France. They then returned to New York for a few years before returning to Augusta in 1938 where Fleming maintained his home for the rest of his life. For several years he maintained a weekly column in a Georgia newspaper. He also contributed articles to several magazines during his career, including the British satirical magazine Punch
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
. He died of cancer in Augusta at the age of 90 and is buried in the Summerville Cemetery
Summerville Cemetery
-Notable interments:*George Walker Crawford, Governor of Georgia, United States Secretary of War*Alfred Cumming, Confederate General in the American Civil War*William Henry Fleming, congressman...
. His daughter was the late music critic and editor Shirley Fleming
Shirley Fleming
Shirley Fleming was an American music critic and editor. Born in New York City, she was the daughter of novelist Berry Fleming who enjoyed popularity during the 1930s and 1940s with a series of successful works, and later in the 1980s with his Captain Bennett's Folly. Shirley grew up in Augusta,...
.