William Edmund Barrett
American author (1900–1986)
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William Edmund Barrett, commonly known as William E. Barrett, was an American writer, best known for the 1962 novella The Lilies of the Field which was made into an award-winning film.
November 16, 1900
William Edmund Barrett | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Edmund Barrett November 16, 1900 |
| Died | September 14, 1986 (aged 85) |
| Alma mater | Manhattan College |
| Occupations | Pulp-fiction author, novelist, biographer |
| Known for | The Lilies of the Field |
Life
Barrett was born in New York City to John Joseph and Eleanor Margaret (Flannery) Barrett. His family was Roman Catholic.[1] In 1916, he and his family moved to Denver, Colorado. He returned east to attend Manhattan College, from which he graduated in 1922. He majored in politics.[2]
Barrett spent most of his life in Denver.[3] From 1923–29 he worked as the Rocky Mountain advertising manager for Westinghouse. He married Christine M. Rollman on February 15, 1925.[4]
Deeply interested in aviation, he was a civilian lecturer for the United States Air Force, and worked as an aeronautics consultant with the Denver Public Library[3] from 1941 on. He received a citation from Regis College in 1956.
Writing
In a writing career that spanned over 50 years, Barrett's works include short stories, biographies, novels, reviews and non-fiction. In 1929, he began writing freelance for pulp magazines. His first novel, Woman on Horseback was published in 1938. In 1964, he wrote Shepherd of Mankind, a biography of Pope Paul VI.[1]
He was a member of PEN and the Authors League of America. In 1961, he received an Honorary Doctor of Literature degree from Creighton University.[4] He was a member of the National Press Club of Washington, D.C., and the Colorado Authors League, serving as its president from 1943–44.
Three of his novels were made into films:
- The Left Hand of God, starring Humphrey Bogart
- Lilies of the Field based on his novel The Lilies of the Field, featuring Sidney Poitier in an Oscar-winning performance.
- Pieces of Dreams, based on The Wine and the Music, the story of a Roman Catholic priest who decides to marry a Protestant divorcee.
Barrett had been in poor health after suffering a heart attack and died in his sleep in Denver.[5]
Bibliography
- Woman on Horseback (1938)
- Flight from Youth (1939)
- Aviation as a Business (1945)
- The Evil Heart (1946)
- The Number of My Days (1946)
- To the Last Man (1946)
- The Left Hand of God (1951)
- The Shadows of the Images (1953)
- The Sudden Strangers (1956)
- The Empty Shrine (1958)
- The First War Planes (1960)
- The Edge of Things (1960)
- The Lilies of the Field (1962)
- The Fools of Time (1963)
- The Shepherd of Mankind (1964)
- The Glory Tent (1967)
- The Red Lacquered Gate (1967)
- The Wine and the Music (also under the title Pieces of Dreams) (1968)
- A Woman in the House (1971)
- The Shape of Illusion (1972)
- Lady of the Lotus (1975)
Reprinted pulp-magazine fiction
- The Iron Ace (Age of Aces, 2010); collected from Sky Birds magazine
- The Complete Cases of Needle Mike, Volume 1 (Altus Press, 2018); Dime Detective Magazine
- The Complete Cases of the Blue Barrel, Volume 1 (Steeger Books, 2019); Dime Detective Magazine
- The Complete Cases of Needle Mike, Volume 2 (Steeger Books, 2022); Dime Detective Magazine
- The Complete Cases of Needle Mike, Volume 3 (Steeger Books, 2025); Dime Detective Magazine