William James Blake (1894–1968) was an American broker, novelist and Marxist political economist. His birth name was Wilhelm Blech. His first marriage ended in divorce, and he then married Australian novelist Christina Stead, with whom he had been living since the late 1920s. Blake's father was physician, surgeon, and medical educator Gustavus M. Blech, M.D.
Blake's writings included the 1941 novel, The Copperheads, a character-heavy study of intrigues in New York City during the American Civil War,[1] and An American Looks at Karl Marx, an introduction to and criticism of Marxism.
Blake died of stomach cancer.