CRAWFORD

crawford, francis marion (1854-1909), american author, was born at bagni di lucca, italy, on the 2nd of august 1854, being the son of the american sculptor thomas crawford (q.v.), and the nephew of julia ward howe, the american poet. he studied successively at st paul's school, concord, new hampshire; cambridge university; heidelberg; and rome. in 1879 he went to india, where he studied sanskrit and edited the allahabad _indian herald_. returning to america he continued to study sanskrit at harvard university for a year, contributed to various periodicals, and in 1882 produced his first novel, _mr isaacs_, a brilliant sketch of modern anglo-indian life mingled with a touch of oriental mystery. this book had an immediate success, and its author's promise was confirmed by the publication of _dr claudius_ (1883). after a brief residence in new york and boston, in 1883 he returned to italy, where he made his permanent home. this accounts perhaps for the fact that, in spite of his nationality, marion crawford's books stand apart from any distinctively american current in literature. year by year he published a number of successful novels: _a roman singer_ (1884), _an american politician_ (1884), _to leeward_ (1884), _zoroaster_ (1885), _a tale of a lonely parish_ (1886), _marzio's crucifix_ (1887), _saracinesca_ (1887), _paul patoff_ (1887), _with the immortals_ (1888), _greifenstein_ (1889), _sant' ilario_ (1889), _a cigarette-maker's romance_ (1890), _khaled_ (1891), _the witch of prague_ (1891), _the three fates_ (1892), _the children of the king_ (1892), _don orsino_ (1892), _marion darche_ (1893), _pietro ghisleri_ (1893), _katharine lauderdale_ (1894), _love in idleness_ (1894), _the ralstons_, (1894), _casa braccio_ (1895), _adam johnston's son_ (1895), _taquisara_ (1896), _a rose of yesterday_ (1897), _corleone_ (1897), _via crucis_ (1899), _in the palace of the king_ (1900), _marietta_ (1901), _cecilia_ (1902), _whosoever shall offend_ (1904), _soprano_ (1905), _a lady of rome_ (1906). he also published the historical works, _ave roma immortalis_ (1898), _rulers of the south_ (1900)--renamed _sicily, calabria and malta_ in 1904,--and _gleanings from venetian history_ (1905). in these his intimate knowledge of local italian history combines with the romancist's imaginative faculty to excellent effect. but his place in contemporary literature depends on his novels. he was a gifted narrator, and his books of fiction, full of historic vitality and dramatic characterization, became widely popular among readers to whom the realism of "problems" or the eccentricities of subjective analysis were repellent, for he could unfold a romantic story in an attractive way, setting his plot amid picturesque surroundings, and gratifying the reader's intelligence by a style at once straightforward and accomplished. the _saracinesca_ series shows him perhaps at his best. _a cigarette-maker's romance_ was dramatized, and had considerable popularity on the stage as well as in its novel form; and in 1902 an original play from his pen, _francesco da rimini_, was produced in paris by sarah bernhardt. he died at sorrento on the 9th of april 1909.