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Size | 1.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 12 items) |
Abstract | Richard M. McKenna (1913-1964) received an A.B. from the University of North Carolina in 1956. "The Sand Pebbles," his only completed novel, was published in 1962. Holograph drafts and carbon copies of typed drafts of "The Sand Pebbles" (1962), a novel by McKenna, and a few other items. |
Creator | McKenna, Richard M. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
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Back to TopRichard M. McKenna was born in Mountain Home, Idaho, in 1913. Seeking wider opportunities than could be realized in an area gripped in the early throes of the Great Depression, McKenna joined the Navy at age 18. He served in the Navy for the next 22 years, including 10 years of active sea duty, chiefly in the Far East. He participated in World War II and the Korean Conflict.
Having retired from the Navy in 1950, he began his undergraduate education at the University of North Carolina, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1956 with a B.A. in English literature. In the same year, he married Eva Mae Grice, a librarian at the University.
McKenna tried his hand at short story writing, achieving a moderate amount of success publishing his work in science fiction magazines. Success on a grander scale was imminent, however. In 1962, Harper & Brothers published The Sand Pebbles, a novel about men aboard a United States gunboat patrolling the coast of China in the 1920s. The book draws heavily on McKenna's own later experiences, and the author was often cited as the model for the book's protagonist. The Sand Pebbles was both popular and profitable, winning the $10,000 Harper Prize Novel contest and being chosen as a Book-of-the-Month Club selection.
The Sand Pebbles was McKenna's only novel. Still not quite adjusted to his new fame and fortune, McKenna suffered a heart attack and died in 1964. In 1966, The Sand Pebbles was made into a motion picture.
Back to TopHolograph and carbon copies of typed drafts of The Sand Pebbles. "Ride A Paper Tiger" and "The Paper Tigers" appear to have been working titles for The Sand Pebbles, although these titles may also have been used for other, shorter publications.
These papers remain largely in the order in which they were received. All drafts are undated.
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