The Romantic Lady, Classics To Go

Michael Arlen

Michael Arlen (November 16, 1895 in Ruse, Bulgaria – June 23, 1956 in New York City), born Dikran Kouyoumdjian, was a British essayist, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and scriptwriter of an Armenian origin, who had his greatest successes in the 1920s while living and writing in England. Arlen is most famous for his satirical romances set in English smart society, but he also wrote gothic horror and psychological thrillers, for instance "The Gentleman from America", which was filmed in 1956 as a television episode for Alfred Hitchcock's TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Near the end of his life, Arlen mainly occupied himself with political writing. Arlen's vivid but colloquial style "with unusual inversions and inflections with a heightened exotic pitch" came to be known as Arlenesque. Very much a 1920s society figure resembling the characters he portrayed in his novels, and a man who might be referred to as a dandy, Arlen invariably impressed everyone with his immaculate manners. He was always impeccably dressed and groomed and was seen driving around London in a fashionable yellow Rolls Royce and engaging in all kinds of luxurious activities. However, he was well aware of the latent suspicion for foreigners mixed with envy, with which his success was viewed by some. His works became an inspiration for famous Hollywood movies such as A Woman of Affairs (1928) with the participation of Greta Garbo and John Gilbert; The Golden Arrow (1936) with Bette Davis; The Heavenly Body (1944) with actors William Powell and Hedy Lamarr. (Wikipedia)