Robert Elegant
Encyclopedia
Robert Sampson Elegant is a British-American author and journalist born in New York City
. He spent many years in Asia
as a journalist. The Asian settings of all but one of his novels reflect that experience. He covered both the Korean and the Vietnam Wars, as well as four or five lesser conflicts. His latest novel, Cry Peace, is centered on the Korean War.
(AB, Phi Beta Kappa); and Columbia University
(MA, Far Eastern studies, MS journalism, Distinguished Alumnus Award), as well as a diploma of proficiency in Chinese from Yale University
. He has been a Pulitzer Prize
traveling fellow (1951) and was given an Edgar Allan Poe Special Award in 1967 for A Kind of Treason, among the best first mystery thriller novels of the preceding year.
He has, among other awards, been given four prizes for best interpretation of foreign news by the Overseas Press Club
of America. He was shortlisted for a Pulitzer Prize in international reporting three times. He has been a visiting professor at the University of South Carolina
and Boston University
.
He has been a fellow of the Washington, D.C. American Enterprise Institute, the Berlin, Germany Wissenschaftskolleg (Institute for Advanced Studies), and the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies
at Harvard University
.
Elegant is the patron of the Manchu Shih-tzu Society of Great Britain; he raises shih-tzu (Chinese lion) dogs and has been a devoted amateur sailor and owner of small craft for 50 years.
He now lives in London and Italy. He frequently travels mainly to the Far East. He speaks, reads, and writes in Chinese and Japanese, having studied both the classical and modern languages, as well as German, Italian, and some Indonesian.
His articles have been published in hundreds of newspapers and scores of weekly, biweekly, and monthly journals across the world, and his books have been published in a number of languages in 20 countries.
In Delhi, India on April 16, 1956, painter Moira Clarissa Brady became his wife. She died of cancer
January 19, 1999. Elegant married author and editor Ursula Rosemary Righter (née Douglas) on May 10, 2003 in Italy.
His children are Victoria Ann, a gynecological and pharmacological physician, and Simon David Brady, journalist and novelist.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He spent many years in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
as a journalist. The Asian settings of all but one of his novels reflect that experience. He covered both the Korean and the Vietnam Wars, as well as four or five lesser conflicts. His latest novel, Cry Peace, is centered on the Korean War.
Career
Elegant holds degrees from the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
(AB, Phi Beta Kappa); and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
(MA, Far Eastern studies, MS journalism, Distinguished Alumnus Award), as well as a diploma of proficiency in Chinese from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. He has been a Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
traveling fellow (1951) and was given an Edgar Allan Poe Special Award in 1967 for A Kind of Treason, among the best first mystery thriller novels of the preceding year.
He has, among other awards, been given four prizes for best interpretation of foreign news by the Overseas Press Club
Overseas Press Club
The Overseas Press Club of America was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member...
of America. He was shortlisted for a Pulitzer Prize in international reporting three times. He has been a visiting professor at the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
and Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
.
He has been a fellow of the Washington, D.C. American Enterprise Institute, the Berlin, Germany Wissenschaftskolleg (Institute for Advanced Studies), and the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies
Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies
The Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University is a post-graduate research center promoting the study of modern and contemporary China from a social science perspective. -History:...
at 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...
.
Elegant is the patron of the Manchu Shih-tzu Society of Great Britain; he raises shih-tzu (Chinese lion) dogs and has been a devoted amateur sailor and owner of small craft for 50 years.
He now lives in London and Italy. He frequently travels mainly to the Far East. He speaks, reads, and writes in Chinese and Japanese, having studied both the classical and modern languages, as well as German, Italian, and some Indonesian.
His articles have been published in hundreds of newspapers and scores of weekly, biweekly, and monthly journals across the world, and his books have been published in a number of languages in 20 countries.
In Delhi, India on April 16, 1956, painter Moira Clarissa Brady became his wife. She died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
January 19, 1999. Elegant married author and editor Ursula Rosemary Righter (née Douglas) on May 10, 2003 in Italy.
His children are Victoria Ann, a gynecological and pharmacological physician, and Simon David Brady, journalist and novelist.
Nonfiction
- China's Red Masters, Twayne (1951) (published in England as China's Red Leaders by Bodley Head)
- The Dragon's Seed, St. Martin's (1959)
- The Center of the World, Doubleday (1964) (revised edition by Funk in 1968)
- Mao's Great Revolution, World Publishing (1971)
- China's Red Masters: Political Biographies of the Chinese Communist Leaders, Greenwood Press (1971) (First reprint)
- Mao vs. Chiang: The Battle for China, Grosset & Dunlap (1972)
- The Great Cities: Hong Kong, Time-Life (1977)
- Pacific Destiny: Inside Asia Today, Crown (1990)
Fiction
- A Kind of Treason, Holt (1966)
- The Seeking, Funk (1969)
- Dynasty, McGraw (1976)
- Manchu, McGraw (1979)
- Mandarin, Simon & Schuster (1983)
- White Sun, Red Star, Hamish Hamilton (1986) (published as From a Far Land by Random House in 1987)
- Bianca, Sinclair-Stevenson (1992) (St Martin's also published it in 1995)
- The Everlasting Sorrow, Reed International (1994)
- Last Year in Hong Kong: A Love Story, Morrow (1997)
- The Big Brown Bears, Hale (1998) http://www.amazon.com/dp/0709061749
- Cry Peace, Hale (2005)