Fred Mustard Stewart
Fred Mustard Stewart was an American author born in 1936 in Anderson, Indiana. He graduated from Princeton University in 1954 and had a diverse career before marrying theatrical agent Joan Richardson in 1968. Stewart's literary career began with the publication of his first novel, *The Mephisto Waltz*, in 1969, which explored themes of supernatural intrigue and was adapted into a film. He followed this with two more horror novels, *The Methuselah Enzyme* and *Star Child*, before shifting his focus to historical fiction, where he found greater commercial success. His most notable work, *Ellis Island*, delves into the experiences of European immigrants in the late 19th century and was later adapted into a television miniseries. In the 1990s, he created the four-book Savage family series, which highlighted rich period details and melodramatic narratives. Stewart passed away from cancer in 2007 in New York City, leaving behind a diverse literary legacy that captures various historical contexts and emotional journeys.
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Subject Terms
Fred Mustard Stewart
Writer
- Born: September 17, 1936
- Birthplace: Anderson, Indiana
- Died: February 7, 2007
- Place of death: New York, New York
Biography
Fred Mustard Stewart was born in Anderson, Indiana, in 1936, the son of Simeon Stewart, a banker, and Janet Mustard Stewart. He was educated at Princeton University, graduating in 1954. After a number of jobs, he married Joan Richardson, a theatrical agent, in 1968.
Stewart’s first novel, The Mephisto Waltz, was published in1969. The novel tells the story of a young writer who becomes involved with an elderly pianist and his beautiful young daughter. It was adapted for a film released in 1971, in which the satanic and supernatural similarities were unfavorably compared to the film Rosemary’s Baby (1968). In 1970, Stewart published a second horror novel, The Methuselah Enzyme, about a project that would keep people alive indefinitely, named for Methuselah, the oldest person mentioned in the Bible. A third horror novel, Star Child, followed in 1974.
Stewart then began writing historical novels, which earned him greater critical and commercial success. His plots usually involve a pair of lovers who are separated and finally reunited or a family’s fortunes over several generations. His best- known novel is Ellis Island, about the fortunes of European immigrants who came to the United States in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The book was adapted for a television miniseries that aired in 1984.
In the 1990’s, Stewart began his four-book series about the Savage family, and these novels were more commercially successful than some of his earlier work. The Magnificent Savages, the first book in the series, focuses on Justin Savage, the illegitimate child of a shipping magnate who is sent to sea when he is twelve. He has an amazing series of amorous encounters, including relationships with a Chinese pirate queen and an Italian countess, but his real love is a missionary’s daughter. The second novel, The Young Savages, is about Savage’s two children. His daughter, Julie, is rejected by fashionable New York society and explores her Chinese heritage; his son, Johnny, is half Italian and winds up exploring the Dakotas with Theodore Roosevelt. Stewart provides a wealth of period detail and writes economically, but his plots often are melodramatic.
Stewart died of cancer on February 7, 2007, in his home in New York City.