Eric M. Knight (1897–1943)
Author of Lassie Come Home
About the Author
Image credit: portrait by Peter Hurd National Portrait Gallery (USA)
Works by Eric M. Knight
Foraging Texas: Finding, Identifying, and Preparing Edible Wild Foods in Texas (Galcon Guides) (2021) 12 copies
1943 LASSIE COME HOME ERIC KNIGHT GREAT DOG STORY TV SERIES BASIS WITH DJ [Hardcover] ERIC KNIGHT (1943) 4 copies
Lassie - eBook 1 copy
Lassie nr. 30 - 1966 1 copy
Lassie nr. 11 - 1955 1 copy
Lassie nr. 21 1 copy
Associated Works
The Illustrated Treasury of Children's Literature, Volumes 1-2 (1955) — Contributor — 520 copies, 4 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Knight, Eric Oswald Mowbray
- Birthdate
- 1897-04-10
- Date of death
- 1943-01-15
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- film critic
screenwriter
novelist - Organizations
- Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
U.S. Army Reserves
U.S. Army Special Services
Philadelphia Public Ledger - Short biography
- [excerpted from Exodus Books website]
Eric Oswald Mowbray Knight was an English author who is mainly notable for creating the fictional collie Lassie. He took American citizenship in 1942 shortly before his death.
Knight had a varied career, including service in the Canadian Army during World War I and spells as an art student, newspaper reporter and Hollywood screenwriter. His first novel was Song on Your Bugles (1936) about the working class in Northern England. As "Richard Hallas", he wrote the hardboiled genre novel You Play The Black and The Red Comes Up (1938). Knight's This Above All is considered one of the significant novels of the Second World War. One of Knight's last books was Sam Small Flies Again, republished as The Flying Yorkshireman.
Knight and his second wife Jere Knight raised collies on their farm in Pleasant Valley, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. - Cause of death
- plane crash
- Nationality
- UK
USA (naturalized; 1942) - Birthplace
- Menston, West Yorkshire, England, UK
- Place of death
- Dutch Guiana
- Burial location
- Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Lemay Township, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA
Members
Reviews
The classic children's book Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight was originally published in 1940. Having stood the test of time, this story is as appealing today as it has been for generations of dog-lovers. I grew up watching the TV program "Lassie" but had never read the original story. I was surprised by the English setting having assumed the story, like the tv show, was American.
Both Yorkshire and the Scottish Highlands are vividly portrayed in this book, and the beautiful collie dog that show more takes center stage is described almost as royalty. Lassie was a special dog and her love for her master could not be quelled or her homing instinct changed no matter how far away she was taken. Her struggles to get back to her "boy" carried her the length of Scotland and back into England and along the way she encountered both bad situations and good ones.
I am a dog lover and this book spoke to my heart. I was rooting for Lassie to find her way home and was thrilled at the outcome of the book. I don't know how I missed this book when I was young, but if I had come across it, it would have had a place of honor on my shelves. show less
Both Yorkshire and the Scottish Highlands are vividly portrayed in this book, and the beautiful collie dog that show more takes center stage is described almost as royalty. Lassie was a special dog and her love for her master could not be quelled or her homing instinct changed no matter how far away she was taken. Her struggles to get back to her "boy" carried her the length of Scotland and back into England and along the way she encountered both bad situations and good ones.
I am a dog lover and this book spoke to my heart. I was rooting for Lassie to find her way home and was thrilled at the outcome of the book. I don't know how I missed this book when I was young, but if I had come across it, it would have had a place of honor on my shelves. show less
A very strange book. Definitely not hardboiled noir in the sense of Hammett, Chandler, or Cain. More of a satire on California and Hollywood in particular, seen through the eyes of an outsider, which perhaps mirrors the author's own experience moving from England to the USA in his teens, then going on to become a Hollywood scriptwriter. For the most part, rather well written, but the characters tend to be rather mysterious with motivations (even of the protagonist) that aren't very apparent. show more The noir is blunted by the fact that we like the protagonist -- even as he does some things that aren't very admirable. The most mysterious character is his new love, the "Naked Mermaid" he meets in one of the strangest and most dreamlike passages I've ever read. The whole book has the atmosphere of a dream, in fact.
Read the ending a couple of times. I guess I was in a hurry to finish it the first time, and I kind of missed the implications.
So not classic noir, but definitely unique. show less
Read the ending a couple of times. I guess I was in a hurry to finish it the first time, and I kind of missed the implications.
So not classic noir, but definitely unique. show less
One of my favorites. Not sure if this was the first long amazing journey dog story, but did that well. Descriptions of the motions and behavior of the dog to go with the point in the story are well done. After you read this one, read 'Lad: A Dog' and let me know which one you like better.
One of my favorites. Not sure if this was the first long amazing journey dog story, but did that well. Descriptions of the motions and behavior of the dog to go with the point in the story are well done. After you read this one, read 'Lad: A Dog' and let me know which one you like better.
Lists
1970s (1)
Best Dog Stories (1)
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 17
- Also by
- 19
- Members
- 2,908
- Popularity
- #8,806
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 33
- ISBNs
- 147
- Languages
- 19
