Allen Drury
Allen Drury was an American novelist, editor, and political correspondent, born on September 2, 1918, in Houston, Texas. He graduated from Stanford University in 1939 and began his career as an editor for newspapers in San Francisco. Drury served in the U.S. Army during World War II and later covered the U.S. Senate for United Press International. His extensive experience in journalism included roles at various magazines and newspapers, where he often showcased his conservative political views and critiques of the "liberal establishment."
Drury is best known for his first novel, *Advise and Consent*, published in 1959, which provides a fictional account of a controversial Senate confirmation hearing involving a nominee with Communist ties. This work garnered the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1960. Throughout his career, Drury continued to write novels, alongside nonfiction works that addressed political themes, reflecting his deep engagement with American politics. He remained active in literature until his death on his eightieth birthday.
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Allen Drury
Fiction Writer
- Born: September 2, 1918
- Birthplace: Houston, Texas
- Died: September 2, 1998
Biography
Allen Drury, an American novelist, editor, and political correspondent,was born on September 2, 1918, in Houston, Texas. After his graduation from Stanford University with a B.A. degree in 1939, he worked for a brief period as an editor for two San Francisco newspapers. Drury served in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1943 and covered the U.S. Senate for United Press International from 1943 to 1945. In the years that followed, Drury worked for numerous magazines and newspapers. He was the national editor for Pathfinder magazine from 1947 to 1953, worked at the Washington Evening Star from 1953 to 1954, was on the U.S. Senate staff of the New York Times from 1954 to 1959, and was a political contributor to Reader’s Digest from 1959 to 1962.
Drury was well-known for his conservative politics and anti- Communist stance. His first novel, Advise and Consent, was published in 1959. It offered a behind-the-scenes look at the contentious confirmation hearing for a liberal nominee for secretary of state who is discovered to have had Communist leanings in his youth. Advise and Consent won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1960.
In his fiction, Drury drew extensively from his many years of experience as a political correspondent in Washington, D.C. Ever critical of what he referred to as the “liberal establishment,” Drury invariably expressed his conservative beliefs in his fiction. His continued to publish novels through the 1990’s. He also wrote several nonfiction works, including Courage and Hesitation: Notes and Photographs of the Nixon Administration and Egypt, the Eternal Smile: Reflections on a Journey. Drury died on his eightieth birthday.