Siegel, Robert Anthony

PERSONAL:

Born in New York, NY; son of a criminal defense lawyer; married to Karen E. Bender (a writer); children: Jonah, Maia. Education: Harvard University, B.A., 1992; University of Iowa, M.F.A., 1992; also attended the University of Tokyo. Religion: Jewish.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Wilmington, NC. Agent—Geri Thoma, Elaine Markson Literary Agency, 44 Greenwich Ave., New York, NY 10011. E-mail—[email protected]; [email protected].

CAREER:

Writer and educator. University of North Carolina Wilmington, assistant professor of creative writing.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Mombusho fellowship, Japanese Ministry of Education, 1983-85; Michener-Engle fellowship, University of Iowa, 1992; writing fellowship, Fine Arts Work Center at Provincetown, 1992-93.

WRITINGS:

All the Money in the World (novel), Random House (New York, NY), 1997.

All Will Be Revealed (novel), MacAdam Cage (San Francisco, CA), 2007.

Contributor of short stories to periodicals, including Portland Review, Post Road Magazine and Cimarron Review.

SIDELIGHTS:

Robert Anthony Siegel, a professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, is the author of the novels All the Money in the World and All Will Be Revealed. "In my view, good fiction is always driven by emotion," Siegel noted on his faculty page at the university's Web site.

All the Money in the World concerns the relationship between wealthy defense attorney Louis Glasser and his son, Jason, a student at Harvard. When Brian Brianson, one of Louis's shady clients, is arrested in a sting operation, he attempts to gain favor with the authorities by falsely accusing Louis of a crime. As his life falls apart, Louis turns to Jason for support. "Although this first novel is well written, there are questions left unanswered," observed Library Journal contributor Shirley Gibson. A critic in Publishers Weekly offered a more positive assessment, noting that the author "succeeds in making the lives and actions of all his characters … real and heartfelt." All the Money in the World "doesn't end with a grand pronouncement," Siegel told interviewer Luke Ford on Luke Ford.net. He added, "I was trying to hold within the bounds of normal human experience rather than trying to create a neat dramatic arc. It's true to life. People go through terrible things and sometimes the one reward is having survived."

Set in late-nineteenth-century New York City, All Will Be Revealed centers on Augustus Auerbach, a disabled recluse who has made a fortune in pornography. When one of his models convinces Auerbach to attend a séance at the home of Verena Swann, a spiritual medium, he becomes convinced that she has channeled the soul of his late mother. Auerbach and Swann begin an unlikely love affair that is later threatened by Swann's greedy brother-in-law. According to Miriam Parker, a contributor in BustedHalo.com, "The plot of the novel moves deftly from Auerbach's point of view to Verena Swann's and back again, showing the worlds that they each inhabit and the insecurities that are inherent in their lives of deception." A critic in Publishers Weekly called All Will Be Revealed "a richly detailed and seedily seductive narrative."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, April 1, 1997, Shirley Gibson, review of All the Money in the World, p. 131; March 1, 2007, Susan O. Moritz, review of All Will Be Revealed, p. 78.

Publishers Weekly, March 31, 1997, review of All the Money in the World, p. 64; December 18, 2006, review of All Will Be Revealed, p. 40.

ONLINE

BustedHalo.com,http://www.bustedhalo.com (August 15, 2007), Miriam Parker, "Pulling the Curtains Back," review of All Will Be Revealed and "Busted: Robert Anthony Siegel's Literary Novel."

Curled Up with a Good Book,http://www.curledup.com/ (August 15, 2007), Luan Gaines, review of All Will Be Revealed.

KQED,http://www.kqed.org/ (March 20, 2007), Suzanne Kleid, review of All Will Be Revealed.

Luke Ford.net,http://www.lukeford.net/ (August 16, 2006), "Robert Anthony Siegel's Literary Novel—All the Money in the World."

Robert Anthony Siegel Home Page,http://www.robertanthonysiegel.com (August 15, 2007).

University of North Carolina Wilmington,http://www.uncw.edu/ (August 15, 2007), "Robert Anthony Siegel."