James Norman Hall
James Norman Hall | |
|---|---|
James Norman Hall | |
| Born | 22 April 1887 Colfax, Iowa |
| Died | 5 July 1951 (aged 64) Arue, Tahiti, French Polynesia |
| Resting place | Grounds of the James Norman Hall House, Arue, Tahiti, French Polynesia |
| Occupation | Novelist, memoirist, nonfiction writer, World War I soldier and aviator |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Grinnell College (BA) |
| Period | 1916–1951 |
| Genre | Adventure fiction, historical fiction, memoir, military nonfiction, travel writing, South Seas |
| Subject | World War I, military aviation, maritime history, colonialism, French Polynesia, cultural encounter |
| Notable works | The Bounty Trilogy (Mutiny on the Bounty, Men Against the Sea, Pitcairn’s Island), The Lafayette Flying Corps, The Hurricane, My Island Home |
| Notable awards | Distinguished Service Cross, Croix de Guerre, Médaille militaire, Légion d'honneur |
| Spouse | Sarah “Lala” Winchester |
| Children | 2, including Conrad L. Hall |
| Website | |
| www | |
James Norman Hall (22 April 1887 – 5 July 1951) was an American writer best known for The Bounty Trilogy, a series of historical novels co-authored with Charles Bernard Nordhoff: Mutiny on the Bounty (1932), Men Against the Sea (1934), and Pitcairn's Island (1934). During World War I, Hall uniquely served in the armed forces of three Allied nations—Great Britain as an infantryman, and later France and the United States as an aviator. His wartime honors include the Croix de Guerre, the Médaille Militaire, the Légion d'Honneur, and the Distinguished Service Cross. After the war, he settled in Tahiti, where he and Nordhoff wrote a number of successful adventure novels, many of which were adapted into films. He was also the father of Conrad L. Hall, a three-time Academy Award-winning cinematographer.