Richter, Conrad

Richter, Conrad (rĭk`tər), 1890–1968, American novelist, b. Pine Grove, Pa. After newspaper work in Pennsylvania and Ohio, he moved to New Mexico. Richter's novels treat the American frontier experience in terms of everyday life. His best-known works are the novels The Trees (1940), The Fields (1946), and The Town (1950; Pulitzer Prize), which comprise a trilogy. His other novels include The Sea of Grass (1937), The Light in the Forest (1953), The Lady (1957), and The Aristocrat (1968).

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Richter, Conrad (Michael)

(born Oct. 13, 1890, Pine Grove, Pa., U.S.—died Oct. 30, 1968, Pottsville, Pa.) U.S. short-story writer and novelist. He began as an editor and reporter and founded a juvenile magazine before moving to New Mexico in 1928. He became fascinated with U.S. history and spent years researching frontier life. He is best known for The Sea of Grass (1936), an epic on the settling of the Southwest, and for his trilogy of pioneer life, The Trees (1940), The Fields (1946), and The Town (1950, Pulitzer Prize). The Waters of Kronos (1960, National Book Award) is an autobiographical novel.