MacKinlay Kantor, in a literary career that covered nearly half a century, produced over thirty novels, several volumes of short stories, and a number of works of nonfiction. Although he utilized various themes and settings for his novels, ranging from gangsterism in Chicago to fox-hunting in the Missouri hills, Kantor made his greatest contribution to American letters with his historical novels. Such works as Long Remember (1934), the Pulitzer Prize-winning Andersonville (1955), Spirit Lake (1961), and Valley Forge (1975) attest to his success in that genre.

Born in Webster City, Iowa, on 4 February 1904, Kantor came from mixed ancestry. His mother was descended from Scotch-Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch pioneers, while his father was born in Sweden of Russian-Portugese parents. The father abandoned the family, and Kantor was reared by his mother. A journalist herself, she strongly encouraged her son to develop his writing talents. Following a rather sporadic high-school education, Kantor worked with...