My fam.
My name is Danny McDonald, and I currently reside in Kentucky. I am a graduate of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with a M. Div. in Theology (12/08) and a Ph.D. in philosophy and church history (5/14). I currently serve as an Instructional Designer at a local university, as well as teach adjunct in the areas of philosophy and church history. More importantly, I am a husband to a beautiful wife (how’d I get that lucky?!) and a father to three beautiful daughters. So, why this website?
The first Kenneth Roberts book I owned – Rabble in Arms.
I became a fan of Kenneth Roberts in 1992 or 1993. Since then, I’ve tried to read all of his works and collect as many as I can find and/or afford. About five years ago I discovered that there is no website devoted to Kenneth Roberts, so I decided to start one. My purpose for this site is to serve as a “Central Station” of all things Kenneth Roberts. I seek to look at his works (books and articles) and at any news (past and present) related to Kenneth Roberts. American readers today know very little – if anything at all – about Kenneth Roberts; my hope is that this website helps to keep alive one of America’s great authors.
Contact me: at kennethrobertswebsite at gmail dot com
***UPDATED 1/2/2020***
Kenneth Roberts - The Unofficial Site 
I put other but what I really meant was that I think his work is life-enriching, (that comment should be taken to its fullest possible application) but I have no books. I wish. They belonged to someone else. Incidentally, re Benedict Arnold, I felt, through Roberts’ work, that I knew the man, and I was devastated that he was regarded as a traitor by Americans. I think that living in Scotland, I have been deprived of much of his work, but that’s okay, I’m retired now and I couldn’t afford all of it. I do have a photo of his gravestone and as a result of today a photo of him. I love the fact that someone else admires him so much, namely you. Cheers Norma
Norma, great to see another fan! I agree with your assessment of Roberts and how he wrote. After reading Rabble in Arms, I too felt as if I knew Benedict Arnold the man. It still doesn’t excuse his traitorous act, but I do see that he was not an evil person as some make him out to be. Hope you can find his works to read them!
Danny
I am so glad to have discovered this blog. I love his work. My favorites are Arundel and Rabble in Arms. When I have more time I will tell you the story of “Laurie and the Mission for Cynthy’s Beans”.
Danny,
Found these 1937 reviews by Mary Jo Hauser of KR’s classic and another book about Pennsylvania Ranger James Smith..which inspired the movie Allegheny Uprising..starring the Duke
Western Pennsylvania History
http://dpubs.libraries.psu.edu/DPubS?Service=UI&version=1.0&verb=Display&handle=psu.wph
Book Review: The First Rebel. By Neil H. Swanson.
Mary Jo Hauser; 293-294
Book Review: Northwest Passage. By Kenneth Roberts. 293a–294
Source: Western Pennsylvania History, Volume 20, Number 4 (December 1937) ,
Reviewed Works:
Neil H. Swanson, The First Rebel., (New York and Toronto, Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., 1937. xviii, 393 p. Illustrations.)
Kenneth Roberts, Northwest Passage., (Garden City, N. Y., Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., 1937. 709 P.)
Download the full-text here:
PDF (414 KB)
cheers
Sorry for the late reply…thanks for the find!
Hey Danny – I have a handwritten letter from Kenneth Roberts to my great aunt, Joan Marion, dated 2-22-38, in which he thoroughly trashes a few books and authors – most amusing. My aunt was a scholar of the civil war and Benedict Arnold in particular. Apparently she and Roberts corresponded frequently – unfortunately all of her correspondence and ‘work’ ended up curb-side for the trashman via a ‘helpful’ neighbor.
What a treasure! Definitely something unique. If you want, you can do a write up on this letter and I can post it on this website (with you receiving credit for writing it, of course!). Let me know!
Also, very unfortunate for the outcome of your aunt’s work; sometimes one’s helpfulness turns out to be rather detrimental. Did your aunt happen to publish any? I happen to be fascinated with Benedict Arnold on account of Roberts’ Rabble in Arms.
Danny,
Whilst reading James A. Michener’s autobiography The World Is My Home: A Memoir (1991), on pages 368-369, I noted his rather extensive personal tribute to and and high praise of Roberts’ I Wanted to Write, as one of three works he believes aspiring writers should consult. This high praise from America’s “master storyteller” is worth a lookup from the local library – unfortunately no preview has been found online.
Danny,
FYI-old Life Magazine archive issues are accessible via Google books/magazines
the March 18, 1940 issue has a nifty narrative and pictorial review (11 screen shots) of the movie Northwest Passage and article on author Kenneth Roberts starting on page 50
url at
http://books.google.com/books?id=nj8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA50&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=2#v=onepage&q&f=false
Danny,
I found a rare 1942 article written by Kenneth Roberts on Rogers’ Rangers and World War II Rangers on Google’s News Archives – Toledo Blade – Aug 29, 1942 p. 36
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5-EpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Y_8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4193%2C6681217
the use of various word search combinations yields many more interesting “finds”
A better more readable version in the Miami News – same date Aug 29 1942 (but without KR’s picture) at:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=L7ouAAAAIBAJ&sjid=stQFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3912%2C5120726
also a very clear readable version at The Milwaukee Journal
Milwaukee Journal – Aug 27, 1942 – note illustration from cover of Northwest passage book
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=K6kWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5SIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4520%2C4537022
contemporary tributes;
Kenneth Roberts .
Schenectady Gazette – Jul 23, 1957
… nothing on paper that was not demonstrably accurate. northwest Passage”, … Kenneth Roberts is dead and he will be greatly missed but his books remain …
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=99wtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qoAFAAAAIBAJ
Death Of An Author .
Oxnard Press-Courier – Jul 24, 1957
So the Arundel series of novels, as well as Northwest Passage, Oliver Wiswell, Lydia Bailey, are stories found ed on truth. Kenneth Roberts wanted to do ..
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kWBLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fCMNAAAAIBAJ&pg=2518,2157003
Kenneth Roberts .
Newburgh News – Jul 27, 1957
Kenneth Roberts, irascible genius at making the past come alive, … Northwest Passage,” rabble in Arms,” Oliver Wiswell” . little in literature can match …
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=L8RGAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wjMNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5211,2450728
Review .Of The Week ..900 Men Who Shook An Empire .
Lewiston Morning Tribune – Apr 6, 1958
Two years before his death, last year, Kenneth Roberts, of Kennebunkport, … However, the most successful of all of his books was North west Passage,”
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GM5eAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2DIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=815%2C4896915
Roberts Last Book Scores Posthumously .
Vancouver Sun – Apr 12, 1958
before his death last year Kenneth Roberts of Maine published Boon Island … or abroad Of Mr Roberts eight novels Northwest Pas sage alone was reprinted in
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OZRlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EIoNAAAAIBAJ&pg=940%2C2293189
I am a Texan who discovered Roberts’s historical fiction probably 10 years ago. In the summer of 2007 we visited Kennebunkport and wound up at the visitor center. No one there had heard of KR let alone knowing where his former home is located. How fleeting is fame.
Am slowly working my way through his novels, most recently finishing Rabble in Arms. What a remarkable achievemnt. Wiswell probably the next assignment.
Thanks for sharing. It’s sad, though, that no one, especially in Maine, has heard of him. I visited Maine (but not Kennebunkport) in 2009, and very few used book stores had his works, and if they did, they had very little.
Enjoy your reading of his works! Once my Ph D is over, I hope to delve back into his stuff!
Have you seen the Warner Archives video release for Northwest Passage? I hadn’t known it was FINALLY released on dvd until a few days ago.
Unfortunately, I’ve not yet seen the movie. It is on my bucket list, though!
Has anyone ever seen a photo of Robert’s wife, Anna Mosser? Either she was camera shy or all of the photos of her are kept under lock and key. I have a collection of most of his works, most signed, but haven’t come across anything about his wife other than in “I Wanted to Write.”
Great question. I don’t recall seeing a picture of Anna, but I know she played an integral, behind-the-scenes support role for Kenneth Roberts, and he was greatly appreciative of her. I have a couple of contacts I’ll check with.
Interesting site; I’m looking forward to browsing around a bit more. Northwest Passage was one of my Dad’s favorite books–at least, he mentioned it often enough that when he died 3 years ago, out of all of his thousands of books, this was one of just a few dozen I brought home with me. It’s a 1937 edition with a gift notation to I think Lizzie — my dad’s mom was Elizabeth, so it’s possible that it was her book first. Anyway–it finally made it to the top of my reading stack and, wow, the first half of the book is riveting and so astonishingly realistic. I double-checked some things that I thought might be anachronistic, but looks like he did his research well. I could hardly put it down during the agonizing trek through the wet, wooded, frozen wilderness. A gifted man and now I’ll be looking for others of his books–too bad that I never thought to look for more before we cleared out all of my parents’ books.
Your site has so far clarified that Towne is indeed fictional; wasn’t clear from other resources. Thanks.