Richard Marius

Who was Richard Marius?

Richard Curry Marius was an American academic and writer.

He was a scholar of the Reformation, novelist of the American South, speechwriter, and teacher of writing and English literature at Harvard University. He was widely published, leaving behind major biographies of Thomas More and Martin Luther, four novels set in his native Tennessee, several books on writing, and a host of scholarly articles for academic journals and mainstream book reviews.

Working from a small cluttered office atop Harvard's Widener Library and an equally cluttered study in his home in Belmont, Massachusetts, Marius was a charismatic raconteur, a provocative political activist, and a devoted wearer of bowties. He was also an enthusiastic cyclist, biking to Cambridge, Massachusetts, from his home in Belmont and taking frequent bike trips in the French countryside until his health failed in 1998. Over the years, he mentored many Harvard students who went on to be scholars, journalists, and other kinds of professional writers.