Charles G. (Charles Gilman) Norris

Born in Chicago on April 23, 1881, Charles Gilman Norris was an American novelist and playwright who first worked as a journalist before building a literary career. He published his first book, The Amateur, in 1916 and went on to write fiction that engaged with the social questions of his time.

Norris is often remembered for the company he kept as well as the work he produced: he was the brother of novelist Frank Norris and the husband of bestselling author Kathleen Norris. Even so, he developed his own voice, writing stories that explored personal relationships, social expectations, and the emotional costs of modern life.

He died on July 25, 1945. Today, he stands as an interesting early-20th-century American writer whose novels reflect both the ideals and the tensions of the era in which he lived.