E.L. Doctorow Overview

Edgar Lawrence Doctorow is an American novelist and a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Book Award, and two PEN/Faulkner Awards. Born in New York City, Doctorow attended Bronx High School of Science before going to Kenyon College. He graduated... [more]

Edgar Lawrence Doctorow is an American novelist and a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Book Award, and two PEN/Faulkner Awards. Born in New York City, Doctorow attended Bronx High School of Science before going to Kenyon College. He graduated from Kenyon in 1952, did some graduate work at Columbia, and then was stationed in Germany while serving with the military. Doctorow published his first novel, 'Welcome to Hard Times,' in 1960 but it was his 1971 novel, 'The Book of Daniel,' that first garnered him recognition. 'The Book of Daniel' retold the story of the Rosenbergs, two spies sentenced to death in Cold War America. Much of Doctorow's work re-imagines seminal moments in American history--'Ragtime' (1975) brings together Henry Ford, Harry Houdini, Emma Goldman and others at the turn of the century, while 'World’s Fair' confronts the Great Depression. Doctorow's other publications include 'Billy Bathgate,' 'The Waterworks,' 'City of God,' and short-story collections 'Lives of the Poets' and 'Sweet Land Stories.' His newest novel, 'Homer and Langley,' came out in the summer of 2009. Doctorow teaches at New York University. [show less]