- Louis Begley
Louis Begley (born
October 6 ,1933 ) is an American novelist.Life
Begley was born Ludwik Begleiter in
Stryi at the time part ofPoland and now inUkraine , as the only child of a physician. He is a survivor of theHolocaust due to the multiple purchases ofAryan papers by his mother and constant evasion of the Nazis. They survived by pretending to be PolishCatholic . The family left Poland in the fall of 1946 and settled inNew York in March 1947. Begley studiedEnglish Literature atHarvard College (AB '54, summa cum laude), and published in the "Harvard Advocate ". Service in theUnited States Army followed. In 1956 Begley enteredHarvard Law School and graduated in 1959 (LL.B. magna cum laude).Upon graduation from Law School, Begley joined the New York firm of Debevoise & Plimpton as an associate; became a partner in January 1968; became of counsel in January 2004; and retired in January 2007. From 1993 to 1995, Begley was also president of
PEN American Center . He remains a member of PEN's board of directors, as well as a member of theCouncil on Foreign Relations .Work and awards
His first novel, "
Wartime Lies ", was written in 1989. It won thePEN/Hemingway Award for a first work of fiction in 1991. The French version, "Une education polonaise", won thePrix Médicis International in 1992. He has also won several German literature prizes, including the Jeanette Schocken Prize in 1995 and theKonrad Adenauer Foundation Literature Prize in 2000.His novel "About Schmidt" was adapted into a major motion picture starring
Jack Nicholson .Novels
*"
Wartime Lies " (1991)
*"The Man Who Was Late " (1993)
*"As Max Saw It " (1994)
*" About Schmidt" (1996)
*"Mistler's Exit " (1998)
*"Schmidt Delivered " (2000)
*"Shipwreck" (2003)
*"Matters of Honor" (2007)All novels are published by
Alfred A. Knopf , and republished by Ballantine Publishing Company.External links
* http://www.louisbegley.com/
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