Stanley Loomis
Encyclopedia
Stanley Loomis 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.
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 for Boys
in Lenox, Massachusetts.
He studied Oriental Languages at Columbia University
, but his studies were interrupted by the war. He served as a translator and intelligence officer in the Pacific and was serving on the U.S.S. Missouri at the time of the Japanese surrender.
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.”
He returned to Columbia after the war and completed his B.A. and M.A. 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.”
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.” 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 and they had a son, Craig, in 1961. In 1965, he moved with his wife and son to Paris, where he lived first on the Quai Anatole France and later on the rue d’Anjou. In his free time, he worked on the restoration of the Chateau Missery near Dijon, a property belonging to a distant cousin that he and his family helped rebuild.
In addition to his books, he wrote occasional articles and book reviews and offered tours to visiting Americans of some of the less-well-known corners of Paris and France.
He died in the American Hospital of Paris
on December 18, 1972 after being hit by a car on the Place de la Concorde, just three days before what would have been his 50th birthday. Memorial services were held at the American Cathedral in Paris
and in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. His family returned to the United States after his death.
Paris in the Terror (1964): “Stanley Loomis describes massacres, conspiracies and confrontations with eloquence and power. He is fascinating in his remarks about the plight of the impoverished rural nobility, 'pedigreed peasants,' about the homicidal mania of Marat and his followers, about the clash of personalities in the shadow of the guillotine. And he regularly drops wise, cynical or provocative remarks." ISBN 0-88029-401-9
A Crime of Passion (1967): “As a historian, Mr. Loomis has reconstructed for us an impeccable period piece and he has been artful, depositing his poisoned knowledge sparingly here and there, in bringing his story to a flood: the technique of 'The Turn of the Screw.'” ISBN 0-34004-474-8
The Fatal Friendship (1972): “The hallmark of his writing, in this as in his previous book on Paris during the Terror, is fairness. He never stretches a fact to suit a thesis. He never chooses among conflicting interpretations the one that will best advance his narrative… These qualities of measure and restraint contribute to the persuasiveness of his account.” ISBN 0-931933-33-1
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
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
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. His books have been published in eight languages and reprinted numerous times.
Biography
Stanley Pennock Loomis was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
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
Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,947 at the 2010 census...
, and attended the Lenox School for Boys
Lenox School for Boys
Lenox School for Boys was a New England preparatory school for students in grades 9-12 in Lenox, Massachusetts, USA established by the Protestant Episcopal Church of New England. It existed from 1926 under Rev. G. Gardner Monks, the school's first Headmaster until 1946. Then his successor, The Rev....
in Lenox, Massachusetts.
He studied Oriental Languages at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, but his studies were interrupted by the war. He served as a translator and intelligence officer in the Pacific and was serving on the U.S.S. Missouri at the time of the Japanese surrender.
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.”
He returned to Columbia after the war and completed his B.A. and M.A. 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.”
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.” This “entertainment” became his life’s work. He wrote his first book, a biography of Madame du Barry
Madame du Barry
Jeanne Bécu, comtesse du Barry was the last Maîtresse-en-titre of Louis XV of France and one of the victims of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution.-Early life:...
, mistress of Louis XV, after returning to the United States. It was published by Lippincott in 1959.
He married Virginia Lindsley Gignoux in 1960 and they had a son, Craig, in 1961. In 1965, he moved with his wife and son to Paris, where he lived first on the Quai Anatole France and later on the rue d’Anjou. In his free time, he worked on the restoration of the Chateau Missery near Dijon, a property belonging to a distant cousin that he and his family helped rebuild.
In addition to his books, he wrote occasional articles and book reviews and offered tours to visiting Americans of some of the less-well-known corners of Paris and France.
He died in the American Hospital of Paris
American Hospital of Paris
The American Hospital of Paris, founded in 1906, located in Neuilly-sur-Seine, is a private, not-for-profit institution that is considered agréé/non-conventionné under the French system of healthcare. It has 187 surgical, medical, and obstetric beds....
on December 18, 1972 after being hit by a car on the Place de la Concorde, just three days before what would have been his 50th birthday. Memorial services were held at the American Cathedral in Paris
American Cathedral in Paris
Consecrated on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1886, The American Cathedral in Paris is the gathering church for the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe. The American Cathedral is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion...
and in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. His family returned to the United States after his death.
Books
Du Barry (1959): a story “told with brilliance and an admirable sense for comedy. Her later years are, fittingly enough, related in a more mellow, nostalgic key…Entertained at first, then moved, the reader, after the admirable final paragraph, is left pensive. Few books are published of which this could be said.”Paris in the Terror (1964): “Stanley Loomis describes massacres, conspiracies and confrontations with eloquence and power. He is fascinating in his remarks about the plight of the impoverished rural nobility, 'pedigreed peasants,' about the homicidal mania of Marat and his followers, about the clash of personalities in the shadow of the guillotine. And he regularly drops wise, cynical or provocative remarks." ISBN 0-88029-401-9
A Crime of Passion (1967): “As a historian, Mr. Loomis has reconstructed for us an impeccable period piece and he has been artful, depositing his poisoned knowledge sparingly here and there, in bringing his story to a flood: the technique of 'The Turn of the Screw.'” ISBN 0-34004-474-8
The Fatal Friendship (1972): “The hallmark of his writing, in this as in his previous book on Paris during the Terror, is fairness. He never stretches a fact to suit a thesis. He never chooses among conflicting interpretations the one that will best advance his narrative… These qualities of measure and restraint contribute to the persuasiveness of his account.” ISBN 0-931933-33-1