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 Cover page of The Natural (first edition) | |
| Author | Bernard Malamud |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Simon Goltche |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Harcourt Brace and Company |
Publication date | August 21, 1952[1] |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| OCLC | 11868356 |
| Followed by | The Assistant (1957) |
The Natural is a 1952 novel about baseball by Bernard Malamud, and is his debut novel. The story follows Roy Hobbs, a baseball prodigy whose career is sidetracked after being shot by a woman whose motivation remains mysterious. The story mostly concerns his attempts to return to baseball later in life, when he plays for the fictional New York Knights with his self-made bat "Wonderboy".
Based loosely on the shooting incident and subsequent comeback of Philadelphia Phillies player Eddie Waitkus,[2] the story of Roy Hobbs takes some poetic license and embellishes what was a memorable account of a career lost too soon. Apart from both Waitkus and Hobbs both being shot by women, there are few other similarities. It has been alternately suggested by historian Thomas Wolf that the shooting incident might have been inspired by Chicago Cubs shortstop Billy Jurges,[3][4] who was shot by a showgirl with whom he was romantically linked, but Wolf offered no evidence to support this claim.
A film adaptation, The Natural, starring Robert Redford as Roy Hobbs, was released in 1984.
- ^ "Books Published Today". The New York Times: 17. August 21, 1952.
- ^ Lalli (June 14, 2011). "This Day in Philly Sports History: A Demented Fan and the Natural". Retrieved May 30, 2012.
- Ted Cox (May 4, 2012). "Chicago sports tragedies: off the field". Retrieved May 30, 2012. - ^ Wolf, Thomas (2020). The Called Shot: Babe Ruth, the Chicago Cubs, and the Unforgettable Major League Baseball Season of 1932. University of Nebraska Press.
- ^ Al Yellon (January 8, 2007). "The Top 100 Cubs Of All Time – #42 Billy Jurges". Retrieved May 30, 2012.