Charles G. Norris

Charles Gilman Norris (April 23, 1881 – July 25, 1945) was an American novelist. A native of Chicago, Norris worked as a journalist for some years before finding success as a novelist and playwright. His first book was The Amateur (1916). His other novels include Salt (1919), Brass: A Novel of Marriage (1921), Bread (1923), Pig Iron (1926), Seed: A Novel of Birth Control (1930), Zest (1933), Hands (1935), and Flint (1944). He also published three plays: The Rout of the Philistines (with Nino Marcelli, 1922), A Gest of Robin Hood (with Robert C. Newell, 1929), and Ivanhoe: A Grove Play (1936).

Critiques of his work

Norris was well-respected by his literary peers. In a letter to Alida Bigelow dated September 23, 1919, F. Scott Fitzgerald advised the young woman to "read "Salt" young girl so that you may know what life B." (spelling is that of Fitzgerald). The Oxford Companion to American Literature notes that Norris' novels dealt with "such problems as modern education, women in business, hereditary and environmental influences, big business, ethics and birth control."

Family

He was the brother of novelist Frank Norris and the husband of author Kathleen Norris. His granddaughter Kathleen Norris (1 Mar. 1935, San Francisco–8 Dec. 1967, San Francisco) was married to Prince Andrew Romanoff (1923–2021).

Novels and short stories

The Amateur. New York: George H. Doran, 1916. at Google Books

Salt; or, The Education of Griffith Adams. N. Y.: E.P. Dutton and Company, 1919. at Google Books

Brass; A Novel of Marriage. N.Y.: E. P. Dutton, 1921. at Google Books