Kyle onstott biography

American novelist (1887 – 1966)

Kyle Elihu Onstott (January 12, 1887 – June 3, 1966)^[1] was an American novelist, known for his best-selling novel Mandingo (1957).

It was set in the antebellum South, in the 1830s at a fictional Alabama plantation. The book was adapted as a 1961 play^[2] and a 1975 feature film of the same name.^[3]

Biography

Born and raised in Illinois, by the early 1900s Onstott lived with his widowed mother in California.

He was a dog breeder and served as a judge in regional dog shows. A lifelong bachelor, at age 40, he adopted a 23-year-old college student, Philip, who had lost his own parents. After Philip married Vicky, the couple remained close to Onstott for the rest of his life.

Kyle onstott biography wikipedia

Onstott dedicated Mandingo to Philip and Vicky.^[4]

Onstott began writing Mandingo when he was 65 years old. He had collaborated with Philip on a book about dog breeding but hoped to make more money with a novel.

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