Cozzens, James Gould

Cozzens, James Gould (kŭz`ənz), 1903–78, American novelist, b. Chicago. His novels usually concern upper-middle-class professional men who are faced with moral dilemmas that require compromising their ideals. All Cozzens's works are characterized by meticulous craftsmanship and an objective, almost clinical style. His novels include The Last Adam (1933), The Just and the Unjust (1942), Guard of Honor (1948; Pulitzer Prize), By Love Possessed (1957), and Morning, Noon, and Night (1968).

Bibliography

See biography by M. J. Bruccoli (1981).

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Cozzens, James Gould (1903–78) writer; born in Chicago. He was first published in Atlantic Monthly at age 16; his first novel appeared in 1924. Often promoting socially conservative views, his novels focused on the world of male professionals; his best-known works are carefully crafted character studies such as Guard of Honor (1948, Pulitzer Prize) and By Love Possessed (1957). Although his popularity peaked in the 1950s, he continued to publish into the late 1960s.

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Cozzens, James Gould 

Born Aug. 19, 1903, in Chicago. American author.

The heroes of Cozzens’ first novels, Confusion (1924) and Michael Scarlett (1925), are rebels defeated by the bourgeois world. The novel Cockpit (1928) describes an individualist who defends his rights with wolflike tenacity. Cozzens’ most successful novels are Guard of Honor (1948) and By Love Possessed (1957). The former describes the events of World War II (1939–45).

WORKS

Children and Others. New York, 1964.
Morning, Noon, and Night. New York, 1968.

REFERENCES

Bracher, F. The Novels of James Gould Cozzens. New York, 1959.
Maxwell, D. E. S. Cozzens. Edinburgh-London, 1964.