Callaghan, Morley

Callaghan, Morley (Morley Edward Callaghan) (kăl`əhăn'), 1903–90, Canadian novelist. During the 1920s he spent time in Paris, where he became friends with Ernest Hemingway, whose influence can be detected in Callaghan's spare literary style; he recalls these years in That Summer in Paris (1963). Callaghan's novels and short stories are marked by a concern with religion and Christianity, often focusing on individuals whose essential characteristic is a strong but often unexamined sense of self. After a burst of creativity that resulted in Strange Fugitive (1928), Native Argosy (1929), and Such Is My Beloved (1934), Callaghan published little between 1937 and 1950. The Loved and the Lost (1951) is considered by many to be his masterpiece. Callaghan's later works include The Many Colored Coat (1960), A Passion in Rome (1961), Stories (1967), A Fine and Private Place (1975), A Time for Judas (1983), and Our Lady of the Snows (1985).

Bibliography

See studies by V. Hoar (1969), B. Concron (1975) and P. Morley (1978).

---

Callaghan, Morley (Edward)

(born Sept. 22, 1903, Toronto, Ont., Can.—died Aug. 25, 1990, Toronto) Canadian novelist and short-story writer. Callaghan received a law degree in 1928 but never practiced. He won acclaim for the short-story collection A Native Argosy (1929). His first novel, Strange Fugitive (1928), describes the destruction of a social misfit, a type that recurs in his fiction. Subsequent novels, including They Shall Inherit the Earth (1935) and The Loved and the Lost (1951, Governor General's Award), emphasize Christian love as an answer to social injustice. That Summer in Paris (1963) describes Callaghan's friendship with F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. Later works include A Fine and Private Place (1975) and A Time for Judas (1983).