Bridge," Connell's narrative was a series of vignettes - some just a few paragraphs - that offer a portrait of the pre-war lives of Walter Bridge, a workaholic lawyer, and his wife, India, who reside in the fashionable country club district of Kansas City. "I grew up in a home where there was no music, no interest in any of the arts." "He was concerned that I would never be able to make a living at this kind of thing - it was a justifiable concern, I think," Connell told The Associated Press in 2000. His mother was the daughter of a judge.Ĭonnell embarked on a literary career despite the wishes of his father, who wanted him to inherit the family medical practice. 17, 1924, the son and grandson of physicians. They drew on his childhood experiences growing up in an upper-class family in the Midwest before World War II.Ĭonnell was born in Kansas City, Mo., on Aug. Each of the novels was written from the perspective of the title character.Ĭonnell once said that the books, published a decade apart, were "semi" autobiographical. Bridge," which was based on Connell's twin novels. Newman and Woodward appeared in the 1990 film, "Mr. It also was a best-seller and adapted for a network television miniseries. George Armstrong Custer came out in 1984 and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle prize. Bridge," published in 1959 and nominated for a National Book Award. His best-known books included his first novel, "Mrs. The author himself was blessed with a curious and unpredictable mind, his subjects including alchemy, Antarctica, Nordic tales, Marco Polo, Mayan sculpture and the quest for gold in the New World. He wrote often of seekers and doubters, world travelers through the ages, and conventional folks who secretly yearned to break out. His request to family: no funeral.Ĭonnell was a National Book award finalist, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a finalist in 2009 for the International Man Booker Award for lifetime achievement.Ĭonnell was the author of 19 books, including two book-length poems, a biography of Spanish painter Francisco Goya and a historically detailed novel about the Crusades, "Deus Lo Volt!" He was 88, his niece said.Ĭonnell likely died of old age, said Donna Waller of Hilton Head Island, S.C.
On Thursday, the author of "Son of the Morning Star: Custer and the Little Bighorn" - a book about Custer's last stand - was found dead in his apartment in Santa Fe, where he had lived in recent years.
Bridge" was even made into a movie starring husband and wife movie actors, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.
Connell gained some attention via his better known books, but the acclaimed author was well-known and regarded fondly by students of literature, critics, and others as an adventurous writer whose body of work reflected a diversity of interests.Ĭonnell's Depression-era Kansas City in the twin novels "Mrs.
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