Ross Lockridge, Jr.

Ross F. Lockridge, Jr., (April 25, 1914 – March 6, 1948) was an American novelist of the middle of the twentieth century. He is most noted for his expansive novel, Raintree County, often considered to be one of the "great American novels."

Lockridge was born in Bloomington, Indiana, USA and grew up there. Lockridge attended Indiana University in 1931, later graduating. Lockridge married and had four children. His novel, Raintree County, was published in early 1948, to great critical acclaim. It illustrates the 19th century history of a typical midwestern county through the reminiscences of its main character, John Wickliff Shawnessy.

Lockridge, suffering from severe depression, committed suicide shortly after the novel's publication. His grave is in Rose Hill Cemetery in Bloomington.

Reference

Larry Lockridge, Shade of the Raintree: The Life and Death of Ross Lockridge, Jr., New York:Viking Penguin (1994). ISBN 0–670–85440–9