Editing Lloyd C. Douglas

{{Short description|American novelist (1877–1951)}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=September 2013}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| image       = 
| alt         =
| caption     =
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1877|8|27}}
| birth_place = [[Columbia City, Indiana]], US
| death_date  = {{death date and age|1951|2|13|1877|8|27}}
| death_place = [[Los Angeles]], California, US
| resting_place = Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery
| resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline}} -->
| nationality =
| known_for   =
| notable_works = ''[[The Robe]]'', ''[[The Big Fisherman (book)|The Big Fisherman]]'', ''[[Magnificent Obsession]]''
| occupation  = Minister, author
| alma_mater  = [[Wittenberg College]]
| spouse      = Bessie L Porch
| children    = 2
}}
'''Lloyd Cassel Douglas''' (August 27, 1877 – February 13, 1951) was an American [[Minister (Christianity)|minister]] and author. Although Douglas was one of the most popular American authors of his time, he did not write his first novel until the age of 50.

== Biography ==
Douglas was born in [[Columbia City, Indiana]]. His father was a minister and the family lived for part of Douglas's boyhood in [[Monroeville, Indiana|Monroeville]] and [[Wilmot, Indiana|Wilmot]], Indiana and [[Florence, Kentucky]]. In Florence, his father was the pastor of the Hopeful Lutheran Church.

After receiving a degree from [[Wittenberg University|Wittenberg College]] in Springfield, Ohio in 1903, Douglas was ordained in the [[Lutheran]] ministry. He served in pastorates in [[North Manchester, Indiana]], [[Lancaster, Ohio]] and [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name="1910census">1910 U.S. Census; Douglas was listed as a Lutheran clergyman.</ref>  

After his ordainment, Douglas married Bessie I. Porch. They had two daughters together: Bessie J. Douglas, born about 1899, and Virginia V. Douglas, born about 1901.<ref name="1910census"/> 

From 1911 to 1915, Douglas was director of religious work at the [[University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign]]. For the next six years, he was minister of the First Congregational Church in [[Ann Arbor, Michigan]]. In 1920, he moved to [[Akron, Ohio]], to serve as the senior minister of the First Congregational Church of Akron until 1926. Later that year, he moved to Los Angeles for a pastorate. 

Douglas served as pastor at [[St. James United Church (Montreal)|St. James United Church]] in [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]] before retiring from the pastorate to write full time. His biographer Louis Sheaffer comments that "he never stated publicly why he changed denominations."{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

Douglas's first novel, ''[[Magnificent Obsession]]'', published in 1929, was an immediate success. Critics held that his type of fiction was in the tradition of the great religious writings of an earlier generation, such as ''[[Ben-Hur (novel)|Ben-Hur]]'' and ''[[Quo Vadis (novel)|Quo Vadis]]''.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}} 

Douglas followed this with his novels ''Forgive Us Our Trespasses'', ''Precious Jeopardy'', ''[[Green Light (1937 film)|Green Light]]'', ''White Banners'', ''Disputed Passage'', ''Invitation to Live'', ''[[Magnificent Obsession|Doctor Hudson's Secret Journal]]'', ''[[The Robe]]'' and ''[[The Big Fisherman (book)|The Big Fisherman]]''.

==Adaptations==
''Magnificent Obsession'' was adapted twice for the screen, first as a [[Magnificent Obsession (1935 film)|1935 film]] starring [[Robert Taylor (American actor)|Robert Taylor]] and [[Irene Dunne]], [[Magnificent Obsession (1954 film)|and in 1954]], with [[Rock Hudson]] and [[Jane Wyman]].

In 1937, the book ''[[Green Light (1937 film)|Green Light]]'' was adapted for the screen in a film starring [[Errol Flynn]]. ''[[White Banners]]'', starring [[Claude Rains|Claude Raines]] and [[Fay Bainter]], came to the screen in 1938. The film version of ''[[Disputed Passage]]'' was released in 1939. ''[[Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal]]'', a prequel to ''The Magnificent Obsession'', aired on syndicated television in 1955–1957. [[John Howard (American actor)|John Howard]] starred as Dr. Wayne Hudson in 78 episodes.

''The Robe'' sold more than two million copies without any reprint edition. Douglas sold the motion picture rights to ''The Robe'', although [[The Robe (film)|the film]], starring [[Richard Burton]], was not released until 1953, after Douglas's death.

Douglas was generally unhappy with the film adaptations of his works, so when he wrote ''The Big Fisherman'' as the sequel to ''The Robe'', he raised certain stipulations related to its publication. He said that it would be his final novel and that he would not permit it to be adapted as a motion picture, used in any radio broadcast, condensed or serialized.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}} However, ''[[The Big Fisherman (book)|The Big Fisherman]]'' was filmed in 1959, starring [[Howard Keel]] in one of his few non-singing screen roles.

Douglas's last book was the autobiographical ''Time to Remember'', which described his life up to his childhood and education for the ministry. He died before he was able to write the intended second volume. His daughters, Virginia Douglas Dawson and Betty Douglas Wilson, completed the volume, published posthumously as ''The Shape of Sunday''.

Douglas died in [[Los Angeles, California]].

==Works==
=== Novels ===

''Magnificent Obsession'' series:
# ''Magnificent Obsession'' (1929), {{ISBN|9780848804794}}
# ''Doctor Hudson's Secret Journal'' (1939), {{ISBN|9780854560561}}, prequel

''The Robe'' series:
# ''[[The Robe]]'' (1942), {{ISBN|9780432031063}}
# ''[[The Big Fisherman (book)|The Big Fisherman]]'' (1948), {{ISBN|9780395076309}}

Stand-alones:
* ''More Than a Prophet'' (1905), {{ISBN|9780548158364}}
* ''Forgive Us Our Trespasses'' (1932), {{ISBN|9780671782955}}
* ''Precious Jeopardy: A Christmas Story'' (1933), {{OCLC|1666171}}
* ''Green Light'' (1935), {{ISBN|9780340750247}}
* ''White Banners'' (1936), {{ISBN|9780330201612}}
* ''Home for Christmas'' (1937), {{ISBN|9789333182928}}
* ''Disputed Passage'' (1939), {{ISBN|9780432031018}}
* ''Invitation to Live'' (1940), {{ISBN|9781930548077}}

=== Non-fiction ===

* ''Wanted–A Congregation'' (1920), {{ISBN|9780243732357}}, religion
* ''An Affair of the Heart'' (1922), {{ISBN|9781245918749}}, religion
* ''The Minister's Everyday Life'' (1924), {{ASIN|B004MGLCZU}}, religion
* ''These Sayings of Mine: An Interpretation of the Teachings of Jesus'' (1926), {{ASIN|B003KCTOFW}}, religion
* ''Those Disturbing Miracles'' (1927), {{ISBN|9780766166349}}, religion
* ''The College Student Facing a Muddled World'' (1933), sociology
* ''Time to Remember'' (1951), {{ASIN|B0167Q3QZ6}}, autobiography
* ''The Living Faith: Selected Sermons'' (1955), {{OCLC|1150214011}}, religion

=== Other ===

* ''The Fate of the Limited'' (1919)
<ref name="authorandbook">{{cite web |title=Author – Rev, Doya Cassel Douglas |url=http://www.authorandbookinfo.com/cgi-bin/auth.pl?D003277 |publisher=Author and Book Info}}</ref>

== Adaptations ==

* ''[[Magnificent Obsession (1935 film)|Magnificent Obsession]]'' (1935), film directed by [[John M. Stahl]], based on novel ''[[Magnificent Obsession]]''
* ''[[Green Light (1937 film)|Green Light]]'' (1937), film directed by [[Frank Borzage]], based on novel ''Green Light''
* ''[[White Banners]]'' (1938), film directed by [[Edmund Goulding]], based on novel ''White Banners''
* ''[[Disputed Passage]]'' (1939), film directed by Frank Borzage, based on novel ''Disputed Passage''
* ''[[The Robe (film)|The Robe]]'' (1953), film directed by [[Henry Koster]], based on novel ''[[The Robe]]''
* ''[[Demetrius and the Gladiators]]'' (1954), film directed by [[Delmer Daves]], based on novel ''The Robe''
* ''[[Magnificent Obsession (1954 film)|Magnificent Obsession]]'' (1954), film directed by [[Douglas Sirk]], based on novel ''Magnificent Obsession''
* ''[[Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal]]'' (1955–1957), series directed by [[Peter Godfrey (director)|Peter Godfrey]] and Harry R. Sherman, based on novel ''Doctor Hudson's Secret Journal''
* ''Luz da Esperança'' (1956), series based on novel ''Green Light''
* ''Sublime Obsessão'' (1958), series directed by [[Dionísio Azevedo]], based on novel ''Magnificent Obsession''
* ''[[The Big Fisherman]]'' (1959), film directed by Frank Borzage, based on novel ''The Big Fisherman''

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Further reading===
* {{Citation | first = Lloyd C | last = Douglas | title = Time to Remember | place = Boston | publisher = Houghton Mifflin | year=1951}}.
* {{Citation | first1 = VD | last1 = Dawson | first2 = BD | last2 = Wilson | title = The Shape of Sunday: An Intimate Biography of Lloyd C Douglas | year = 1952}} (by his daughters).
* {{Citation | first = H Max | last = Lentz | title = A History of the Lutheran Churches in Boone County, Kentucky, together with Sketches of the Pastors Who Have Served Them | place = York, PA | publisher = Anstadt & Sons | year = 1902 | pages = 80–83}}.
* {{Cite book| first = Louis | last = Sheaffer | chapter = Lloyd Cassel Douglas | title = Dictionary of American Biography | year = 1929 | volume = 70 | issue = 1805 | pages = 181–182 (Supplement 5)| doi = 10.1126/science.70.1805.121 | pmid = 17813847 | bibcode = 1929Sci....70..121P }}.

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* {{FadedPage|id=Douglas, Lloyd C.|name=Lloyd C. Douglas|author=yes}}
* [http://gutenberg.net.au/plusfifty-a-m.html#letterD Works by Lloyd C Douglas] at [http://gutenberg.net.au Project Gutenberg Australia]
* [https://www.ronaldrjohnson.com/copy-of-free-resources Lloyd C. Douglas] at [https://www.ronaldrjohnson.com/ web site of Ronald R. Johnson]
* {{IMDb name|0235160}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Lloyd C.}}
[[Category:1877 births]]
[[Category:1951 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century American Lutheran clergy]]
[[Category:American historical novelists]]
[[Category:American male novelists]]
[[Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)]]
[[Category:Lutheran writers]]
[[Category:Novelists from Indiana]]
[[Category:Novelists from Ohio]]
[[Category:People from Allen County, Indiana]]
[[Category:People from Columbia City, Indiana]]
[[Category:People from Florence, Kentucky]]
[[Category:People from North Manchester, Indiana]]
[[Category:Wittenberg University alumni]]
[[Category:Writers from Akron, Ohio]]