Editing Arthur Golden

{{short description|American author known for writing 'Memoirs of a Geisha'}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{BLP sources|date=September 2009}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| image = 
| imagesize = 150px|
| name = Arthur Golden
| caption = 
| pseudonym = 
| birth_name = 
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1956|12|6}}
| birth_place = [[Chattanooga, Tennessee]], U.S.
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| occupation = Writer
| spouse = Gertrude "Trudy" Legge (1982–present)
| children = 2
| period = 20th century
| genre = Historical fiction
| subject = 
| movement = 
| signature = 
| website = 
| relatives = {{ubl|[[Ruth Sulzberger Holmberg]] (mother)|[[Arthur Hays Sulzberger]] (grandfather)}}
}}

'''Arthur Sulzberger Golden''' (born December 6, 1956) is an American writer. He is the author of the bestselling novel ''[[Memoirs of a Geisha]]'' (1997).

==Early life==
Golden was born in [[Chattanooga, Tennessee]], the son of [[Ruth Sulzberger Holmberg|Ruth (née Sulzberger)]] and Ben Hale Golden.<ref name=NYTObitRuth>{{Cite web|last=McFadden|first=Robert D.|title=Ruth Sulzberger Holmberg, Newspaper Publisher Born for the Job, Dies at 96|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 19, 2017|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/19/business/media/ruth-sulzberger-holmberg-newspaper-publisher-dies-at-96.html?hpw&rref=obituaries&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well}}</ref><ref name=NYTObitBen>{{Cite web|title=Ben Hale Golden, Ex‐Publisher Of Chattanooga Times, 59, Dies |work=The New York Times|date=March 15, 1970|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/03/15/archives/ben-hale-golden-expublisher-of-chattanooga-times-59-dies.html}}</ref> His mother was [[American Jews|Jewish]]. His father was not.<ref name=NYTObitRuth /> Through his mother he is a member of the [[Ochs (surname)|Ochs]]-[[Sulzberger]] family.<ref name=NYTObitRuth /> His mother was a daughter of long-time ''New York Times'' publisher [[Arthur Hays Sulzberger]] and granddaughter of ''New York Times'' owner and publisher [[Adolph Ochs]].<ref name=NYMAGClan>[http://nymag.com/news/articles/08/10/20081013_sulzberger.pdf New York Magazine: "Children of the Times - Who’s who in the Ochs-Sulzberger clan"] retrieved September 27, 2015</ref> His parents divorced when he was eight years old. His father died five years after. He was raised in [[Lookout Mountain, Georgia]] and attended Lookout Mountain Elementary School in [[Lookout Mountain, Tennessee]].

Golden spent his middle and high school years at the [[Baylor School]] (then a boys-only school for day and boarding students) in Chattanooga, graduating in 1974 before attending [[Harvard University]] and receiving a degree in art history, specializing in Japanese art.{{cn|date=December 2022}} In 1980, he earned an [[Master of Arts|M.A.]] in Japanese history at [[Columbia University]], and also learned [[Mandarin Chinese]]. After a summer at [[Peking University]] in [[Beijing]], China, Golden worked in [[Tokyo]], before returning to the United States, where he earned an M.A. in English at [[Boston University]].

==Career==
Golden's most well-known novel, ''[[Memoirs of a Geisha]]'', was written over a six-year period. The novel was re-written in its entirety three times during its development. Golden changed the point of view with each re-write, eventually settling on Sayuri's perspective.

During research for the novel, Golden conducted interviews with a number of geisha, including famous ex-geisha [[Mineko Iwasaki]]. After the Japanese edition of the novel was published, Golden was sued by Iwasaki for breach of contract and defamation of character, with Iwasaki alleging that Golden had agreed to protect her anonymity if she was interviewed about her life as a geisha, due to the traditional code of silence held between geisha in regard to their clients. The lawsuit was settled out of court in February 2003.<ref>{{cite news | title=Tokyo Premiere of 'Memoirs of a Geisha' Nets Mixed Reaction, Criticism | date=November 29, 2005 | url =https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/tokyo-premiere-of-memoirs-of-a-geisha-nets-mixed-reaction-criticism-1.533380 | work =CBC News | access-date = 2022-10-23 }}</ref>

After its release in 1997, ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' spent two years on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list. It has sold more than four million copies in English and has been translated into thirty-two languages around the world. In 2005, ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' was made into a [[Memoirs of a Geisha (film)|feature film]], starring [[Ziyi Zhang]], [[Michelle Yeoh]], [[Gong Li]], and [[Ken Watanabe (actor)|Ken Watanabe]]. The film was directed by [[Rob Marshall]], and garnered three [[Academy Awards]].{{cn|date=December 2022}}

In 2000, Golden received the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url= https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Golden is married to Trudy Legge; they have two children.<ref name=NYMAGClan /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Kathleen Rubenstein, Hays Golden|work=The New York Times|date=June 3, 2007 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/fashion/weddings/03rubenstein.html}}</ref> Golden currently lives in [[South Dartmouth, Massachusetts]].<ref name=":0"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Golden, Arthur}}
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:American male novelists]]
[[Category:American people of German-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Boston University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences alumni]]
[[Category:Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni]]
[[Category:Harvard College alumni]]
[[Category:Jewish American novelists]]
[[Category:Writers from Brookline, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Writers from Chattanooga, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Sulzberger family]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]