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Stanley Loomis (21 December 1922 – 19 December 1972) was the author of four books on French history: ''Du Barry'' (1959), ''Paris in the Terror'' (1964), ''A Crime of Passion'' (1967), and ''The Fatal Friendship'' (1972). ''Paris in the Terror'' was named one of the “books of the century” by the University of California, Berkeley. His books have been published in eight languages and reprinted numerous times.〔(World Catalogue )〕 == Biography == Stanley Pennock Loomis was born in New York City in 1922, the eldest of three sons of an industrial chemist and businessman, Chauncey C. Loomis, and his wife Elizabeth (née McLanahan). He grew up in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and attended the Lenox School in Lenox, Massachusetts. He studied English at Columbia University, but his studies were interrupted by the war. He was trained in Japanese interpretation and served as a translator and intelligence officer in the Pacific. He was in Japan at the time of the Japanese surrender in 1945. According to his obituary in the ''New York Times'', his “interest in French literature began when he was a soldier in World War II. Between air raids on Okinawa, he read the 18th-century memoirs of the Duc de St. Simon.”〔“Stanley Loomis, Writer, 49, Dead,” ''New York Times'', December 22, 1972〕 He returned to Columbia after the war and completed his B.A. and M.A. in English. After graduating, he spent three years in France. Before settling into a writing career, he pursued a number of interests, including “working for a publisher, studying international trade in Arizona, even buying and selling a few paintings in Europe.”〔Jeanette Wakin, “The Author,” ''Saturday Review'', April 11, 1959, p. 25〕 A biographical note in the ''Saturday Review'' states: “He pursued his study of eighteeenth-century France in much the same way his sophisticated figures lived their expensive lives: as a highly refined form of entertainment.”〔Jeanette Wakin, “The Author,” ''Saturday Review'', April 11, 1959, p. 25〕 This “entertainment” became his life’s work. He wrote his first book, a biography of Madame du Barry, mistress of Louis XV, after returning to the United States. It was published by Lippincott in 1959. He married Virginia Lindsley Gignoux in 1960〔“Mrs. Virginia Gignoux Wed to Stanley Loomis,” ''New York Times'', March 2, 1960〕 and they had a son, Craig, in 1961. In 1965, he and his family began to spend the winter months in Paris. They lived first on the Quai Anatole France and later on the rue d’Anjou. He also spent time at the Chateau de Missery in Burgundy, a property belonging to a cousin. In addition to his books, he wrote occasional articles and book reviews〔See, for example, “Eaglet with untried wings,” ''Saturday Review'', June 25, 1960, p. 18, or “The Bastille and All That,” ''New York Times'', March 26, 1967〕 and offered tours to visiting American friends of some of the less-well-known corners of Paris and France. He died in the American Hospital of Paris on December 19, 1972 after being hit by a car on the Place de la Concorde, just two days before what would have been his 50th birthday. Memorial services were held at the American Cathedral in Paris and in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.〔“Stanley Loomis, Writer, 49, Dead,” ''New York Times'', December 22, 1972〕 His family returned to the United States after his death. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Stanley Loomis」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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