Kenneth Roberts was an early-20th century author most known for such works as: Arundel, Rabble in Arms, Oliver Wiswell, Northwest Passage, and Lively Lady. Yet, before he was known as a historical novelist, Kenneth Roberts was a journalist – a career in which he spent most of his time as a correspondent for the Saturday Evening Post. A prolific writer, his articles span a wide variety of topics, such as immigration, the state of Central Europe after WWI, tourism and travel, antiques, cooking, and the American West. After quite a successful career in journalism, Roberts shifted his focus and abilities to writing historical novels which would earn him a Special Pulitzer Prize in 1957.
I first became acquainted with Kenneth Roberts when I was in my junior year of high school (roughly 1992/1993). I had a book report to do on any book of my choice, and I happened to come across Rabble in Arms in my school library. I had never heard of the novel, nor had I heard of Kenneth Roberts; still, I grabbed the book because it was set in the Revolutionary War era. Little did I know then that I would begin a fascination with the works of Kenneth Roberts and a desire to collect anything I can of his (with a small budget, of course).
Roberts sought to write about history in such a way as to make it come alive ( I Wanted to Write). Further, Roberts he wrote about aspects of American history he felt was ignored, misunderstood, or neglected by the general public. For instance, the primary subject of Rabble in Arms is Benedict Arnold. Many know Arnold as the most infamous traitor in American history; yet, many probably know very little of the great good he did for our country before his defection. I, for one, was not aware of this; all I remember is his traitorous act as taught in middle school and high school history classes. Roberts’ attention to historical detail, colorful and vivid language, and his ability to string together seemingly isolated, rather dry historical facts into an invigorating storyline helped me to see that there was more to Arnold, so much so that it makes his traitorous act even more devastating. Roberts’ approach to historical fiction novels exposes the reader to little-known historical events and/or people along with an interpretation of the events that more than likely bucks the trend of contemporary understanding.
I intend this site to eventually become a sort of repository for anything Kenneth Roberts. As alluded to above, I have little to no resources to do any extensive research, nor do I have the ability to access many of his original documents or correspondences; rather, others have already done that (see this short bio on Jack Bales, who has written two books on Kenneth Roberts.). Instead, I hope to serve as a Grand Central Station of information, links, etc. for those who are fans of Kenneth Roberts or for those who are just stopping by for curiosity’s sake.
So, with this said, I hope this develops into a useful site! If you have any resources or ideas, please let me know.
***DISCLAIMER*** This is an independent website. The opinions expressed on this website are those of the creator, Danny McDonald, and of no one else. This website is not affiliated with the Kenneth Roberts estate or any other person, organization or entity that is involved with storing of or dissemination of records pertaining to Kenneth Roberts. Please direct all questions to kennethrobertswebsite at gmail dot com.
***Updated 2/9/2024
Kenneth L. Roberts - The Unofficial Site 