Robert Herrick (novelist)

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Robert Herrick (1868 - 1938) was a novelist who was part of a new generation of American realists. His novels deal with the turbulence of industrialized society and the turmoil it can create in sensitive, isolated people. He was also briefly acting-Governor of the United States Virgin Islands in 1935.

Herrick was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and attended Harvard University where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1890. He later taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From 1905 to 1923, he was a professor of literature at the University of Chicago, during which time he wrote thirteen novels. Among those considered to be his finest was Web of Life (1900).

Praised by William James for his frank and clear-eyed views, his work can also be compared to that of England's George Gissing. Both writers developed themes of social malcontent, the changing role of women, and the effects of social isolation. While seeing his world with a critical eye, Herrick escaped the shrill tone of muckraking writers like Upton Sinclair. His art was free of dogmatic "isms", and achieves its power from a melancholic fatalism. He dreaded the brutality and ignorance of a mob as much as he despised the avarice and jaded ennui of the upper class. Herrick was suspicious of political doctrines and utopian legislation, feeling that true progress for human happiness must always lie in individuals making moral choices.

In January 1935, he was appointed as a Secretary to the United States Virgin Islands. During a political scandal involving then-Governor Paul Martin Pearson, both Pearson and his Lieutenant Governor Lawrence William Cramer were called away to testify before the Senate. Pearson was ultimately forced to resign and Cramer was appointed as his replacement, but he was forced to remain in Washington, D.C. until the conclusion of the hearings. During this period, Herrick was acting-Governor of the Islands, presiding over Legislative sessions.

[edit] References

R. HERRICK NAMED TO VIRGIN ISLANDS. Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES. New York Times. New York, N.Y.: Jan 15, 1935. pg. 13, 1 pgs
ROBERT HERRICK,70, AIDE OF ICKES, DEAD. Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES. New York Times. New York, N.Y.: Dec 24, 1938. pg. 15, 1 pgs

[edit] External links

Works by Robert Herrick at Project Gutenberg
Free digitally-voiced audiobook of The Memoirs of an American Citizen at Babblebooks.com

Preceded by: Paul Martin Pearson	Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands 1935 (Acting Governor)	Succeeded by: Lawrence William Cramer

Governors of U.S. Virgin Islands <td style="vertical-align: middle; width: 1px" rowspan="2"> Image:Flag of the United States Virgin Islands.svg </td>
Pollock • Oliver • Oman • Kittelle • Hough • Williams • Trench • Evans • Pearson • Herrick • Cramer • Harwood • Hastie • de Castro • Alexander • Claunch • Gordon • Merwin • Paiewonsky • King • Evans • King • Luis • Farrelly • Schneider • Turnbull