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Irving Stone (July 14 1903 San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California

The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States, with a 2007 estimated population of 799,183....
 – August 26 1989) was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 writer
Writer

A writer is anyone who creates a written work, although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, as well as those who have written in many different forms....
 known for his biographical
Biography

A biography is a description of someone's life, usually published in the form of a book or essay, or in some other form, such as a film. An autobiography is a biography by the same person it is about....
 novels of famous historical personalities. His best known works are Lust for Life
Lust for Life (novel)

Lust for Life is a biographical novel written by Irving Stone and is based on the life of the famous Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh and his hardships....
 a biographical novel about the life of Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh

Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch people Post-Impressionism artist. Some of his paintings are now among the world's best known, most popular and expensive works of art....
 and The Agony and the Ecstasy a biographical novel about Michelangelo
Michelangelo

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance Painting, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer....
.

923, Stone received his bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley.






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Irving Stone (July 14 1903 San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California

The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States, with a 2007 estimated population of 799,183....
 – August 26 1989) was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 writer
Writer

A writer is anyone who creates a written work, although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, as well as those who have written in many different forms....
 known for his biographical
Biography

A biography is a description of someone's life, usually published in the form of a book or essay, or in some other form, such as a film. An autobiography is a biography by the same person it is about....
 novels of famous historical personalities. His best known works are Lust for Life
Lust for Life (novel)

Lust for Life is a biographical novel written by Irving Stone and is based on the life of the famous Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh and his hardships....
 a biographical novel about the life of Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh

Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch people Post-Impressionism artist. Some of his paintings are now among the world's best known, most popular and expensive works of art....
 and The Agony and the Ecstasy a biographical novel about Michelangelo
Michelangelo

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance Painting, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer....
.

Biography

In 1923, Stone received his bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley. In the 1960s, Stone received an honorary Doctorate
Doctorate

A doctorate is an academic degree that in most countries represents the highest level of formal study or research in a given field. In some countries it also refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to practice in a specific profession ....
 of Letters from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California

The University of Southern California is a private university, nonsectarian, research university located in the University Park, Los Angeles, California neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, California, United States....
, where he had previously earned a Masters Degree from the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences.

When at home, Stone relied upon the research facilities and expertise made available to him by Esther Euler, head research librarian
Librarian

A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs....
 of the University of California at Los Angeles, to whom he dedicated and thanked, in addition to many others, in several of his works.

Stone enjoyed a long marriage
Marriage

Marriage is a social, spirituality, or law union of individuals. This union may also be called matrimony, while the ceremony that marks its beginning is usually called a wedding and the married status created is sometimes called wedlock....
 to his wife and editor
Editing

Editing is the process of preparing language, s, sound, video, or film through correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications in various media....
 on many of his works, Jean Stone. The Stones lived primarily in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
, California. During their lifetime, Stone and his wife funded a foundation
Foundation (charity)

A foundation is a legal categorization of nonprofit organizations. Foundations may also and often have charitable organisation. This type of nonprofit organization may either donate funds and support to other organizations, or provide the sole source of funding for their own charitable activities....
 to support charitable causes they believed in.

Lust For Life


Stone's main source for Lust for Life, as noted in the afterword, were Van Gogh's letters to his brother Theo
Theo van Gogh (art dealer)

Theodorus "Theo" van Gogh was a successful art dealer. He was the younger brother of Vincent van Gogh, and Theo's unfailing financial support allowed his brother to devote himself entirely to painting....
. It seems probable that Vincent
Vincent van Gogh

Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch people Post-Impressionism artist. Some of his paintings are now among the world's best known, most popular and expensive works of art....
's letters to and from his own brother Theo provided a foundation for Adversary in the House. Stone additionally did much of his research
Research

Research is defined as human activity based on intellectual application in the investigation of matter. The primary purpose for applied research is discovery , interpretation , and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of our world and the universe....
 "in the field". For example, he spent many years living in Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 while working on The Agony and the Ecstasy. The Italian government lauded Stone with several honorary awards during this period for his cultural achievements highlighting Italian history.

In 1956, a popular film version was made of Lust for Life, based on Stone's 1934 novel, starring Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas is an Academy Award-nominated United States actor and film producer known for his cleft chin, his gravelly voice and his recurring roles as the kinds of characters Douglas himself once described as "sons of bitches"....
 as Van Gogh. In 1965, a film was made of The Agony and the Ecstasy, starring Charlton Heston as Michelangelo, and Rex Harrison as Pope Julius II.

Selected literary output

Some of Stone's important historical biographical works include:
  • Lust for Life
    Lust for Life (novel)

    Lust for Life is a biographical novel written by Irving Stone and is based on the life of the famous Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh and his hardships....
     (1934) - based on the life of Vincent van Gogh
    Vincent van Gogh

    Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch people Post-Impressionism artist. Some of his paintings are now among the world's best known, most popular and expensive works of art....
  • Sailor on Horseback (1938) - based on the life of Jack London
    Jack London

    Jack London was an American author who wrote The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and The Sea Wolf along with many other popular books....
    .
  • They Also Ran
    They Also Ran

    They Also Ran is the title of a 1943 book by Irving Stone. Stone, a historian, evaluates several unsuccessful candidates for President of the United States in light of their places in history , and attempts to assess whether or not the American people made the "right" choice in rejecting them for that office....
     (1944, updated 1966) - based on candidates who were defeated for U.S. President
  • Immortal Wife (1944) - based on the life of Jessie Benton Frémont
    Jessie Benton Frémont

    Jessie Ann Benton Fr?mont was an United States writer and activism.Notably remembered for being the daughter of Missouri United States Senate Thomas Hart Benton and the wife of officer , exploration and politician, John C....
  • Adversary in the House
    Adversary in the House

    Adversary in the House is a biographical novel based on the life of Eugene V. Debs and of his wife Kate, who was opposed to socialism.The book is Irving Stone's portrayal of Eugene V....
     (1947) - based on the life of Eugene V. Debs
    Eugene V. Debs

    Eugene Victor Debs was an American Trade union leader, one of the founding members of the International Labor Union and the Industrial Workers of the World , as well as candidate for President of the United States as a member of the Social Democratic Party in 1900, and later as a member of the Socialist Party of America in 1904, 1908, 1912,...
     and his wife Kate, who opposed socialism
    Socialism

    Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating public or state ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods, and a society characterized by equality for all individuals, with a fair or Egalitarianism method of compensation....
  • Clarence Darrow For the Defense (1949) - based on the life of Clarence Darrow
    Clarence Darrow

    Clarence Seward Darrow was an United States lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union, best known for defending teenage thrill killing Leopold and Loeb in their trial for murdering 14-year-old Bobby Franks and defending John T....
  • The Passionate Journey (1949) - based on the life of American artist John Noble
    John Noble

    John Noble is an Australian film and television actor, and theatre director of more than 80 Play . He was born in Port Pirie, South Australia, Australia....
  • Love is Eternal (1954) - based on the marriage of Abraham Lincoln
    Abraham Lincoln

    Abraham Lincoln was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery....
     and Mary Todd
  • Men to Match My Mountains (1956) - based on the opening of the Far West
    American Old West

    For cultural influences and their development, see Western .The American Old West or Wild West comprises the history, geography, peoples, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States , most often referring to the period of the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of th...
    , 1840 - 1900
  • The Agony and the Ecstasy - (1961) - based on the life of Michelangelo
    Michelangelo

    Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance Painting, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer....
  • Those Who Love (1965) - based on the life of John Adams
    John Adams

    John Adams was an Politics of the United States and the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States , after being the List of Vice Presidents of the United States Vice President of the United States for two terms....
     and Abigail Adams
    Abigail Adams

    Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams, the second President of the United States, and mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth. She was the first Second Lady of the United States and the second First Lady of the United States although the terms were not coined until after her death....
  • The Passions of the Mind (1971) - based on the life of Sigmund Freud
    Sigmund Freud

    Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian psychiatrist who founded the psychoanalysis of psychology. Freud is best known for his theories of the unconscious mind and the defense mechanism of Psychological repression and for creating the clinical practice of psychoanalysis for curing psychopathology through dialogue...
  • The Greek Treasure (1975) - based on the discovery of Troy by Heinrich Schliemann
    Heinrich Schliemann

    Heinrich Schliemann...
  • The Origin
    The Origin (novel)

    The Origin is a biographical novel of the life of Charles Darwin written by Irving Stone. Darwin was an anthropologist and could be considered the father of evolutionary theory....
     (1980) - based on the life of Charles Darwin
    Charles Darwin

    Charles Robert Darwin Royal Society was an English people natural history who realised and presented compelling evidence that all species of life have evolution over time from common descent, through the process he called natural selection....
  • Depths of Glory (1985) - based on the life of Camille Pissarro
    Camille Pissarro

    Camille Pissarro was a French Impressionist Painting. His importance resides not only in his visual contributions to Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, but also in his patriarchal standing among his colleagues, particularly Paul C?zanne and Paul Gauguin....