John Knowles
author profile
born
September 16, 1926
died
November 29, 2001
gender
male
place of birth
Fairmont, West Virginia, The United States
genre
Literature & Fiction
about this author
John Knowles (September 16, 1926 - November 29, 2001), b. Fairmont, West Virginia, was an American novelist, best known for his novel A Separate Peace.
A 1945 graduate of the Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire, Knowles graduated from Yale University as a member of the class of 1949W. A Separate Peace is based upon Knowles' experiences at Exeter during the summer of 1943. The setting for The Devon School is a thinly veiled fictionalization of Phillips Exeter. The plot should not be taken as autobiographical, although many elements of the novel stem from personal experience. In his essay, "A Special Time, A Special Place," Knowles wrote:
The only elements in A Separate Peace which were not in that...more
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avg rating: 3.55
| 22,138 ratings
| 1,454 reviews
| 27 distinct works
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14 fans
More books by John Knowles…
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A Separate Peace by John Knowles avg rating 3.56 — 19,629 ratings — published 1959 44 editions |
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Peace Breaks Out by John Knowles avg rating 3.33 — 240 ratings — published 1981 3 editions |
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Phineas by John Knowles avg rating 3.54 — 37 ratings — published 1968 2 editions |
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Indian Summer by John Knowles avg rating 3.47 — 30 ratings — published 1966 |
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The Paragon: A Novel by John Knowles avg rating 3.26 — 19 ratings — published 1971 2 editions |
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Literature Connections Sourcebook - A Separate Peace and Related Readings (2-70860) by John Knowles avg rating 3.80 — 5 ratings — published 1998 |
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A Stolen Past by John Knowles avg rating 3.00 — 6 ratings — published 1983 2 editions |
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Morning In Antibes by John Knowles avg rating 3.50 — 4 ratings — published 1963 |
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Spreading Fires by John Knowles avg rating 3.50 — 4 ratings — published 1974 2 editions |
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A vein of riches by John Knowles avg rating 4.00 — 1 rating — published 1978 |
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"Nothing endures. Not a tree. Not love. Not even death by violence."
— John Knowles (A Separate Peace)
— John Knowles (A Separate Peace)
"Everyone has a moment in history which belongs particularly to him. It is the moment when his emotions achieve their most powerful sway over him, and afterward when you say to this person "the world today" or "life" or "reality" he will assume that you mean this moment, even if it is fifty years past. The world, through his unleashed emotions, imprinted itself upon him, and he carries the stamp of that passing moment forever."
— John Knowles (A Separate Peace)
— John Knowles (A Separate Peace)
"All of them, all except Phineas, constructed at infinite cost to themselves these Maginot Lines against this enemy they thought they saw across the frontier, this enemy who never attacked that way-if he ever attacked at all; if he was indeed the enemy."
— John Knowles (A Separate Peace)
— John Knowles (A Separate Peace)
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