Hand-carved bust of Kenneth Roberts (1885-1957)
Brick Store Museum Collection. Courtesy of an anonymous donor, 2007.

Kenneth Roberts' longtime assistant Marjorie Mosser attested that Roberts hand-carved this likeness of himself out of pine wood.

About Kenneth Roberts:

Kenneth Lewis Roberts was born in the Storer Mansion on Storer Street in Kennebunk, Maine, on December 8, 1885. His writing career began as editor of the Cornell Widow, a humor magazine at Cornell University, from which Roberts graduated in 1908. Roberts went on to write for the Boston Sunday Post and for Life and Puck magazines.

Roberts and his wife Anna Mosser of Boston were wed in 1911. They initially lived in Boston, but by 1919, they had purchased and remodeled a stable they called "Stahlhall" at Kennebunk Beach. In 1924, they moved nearby to a home he designed and affectionately called, "Blue Roof" for its blue shingles.

After serving in the United States Army as a military intelligence officer during World War I, Roberts became the Washington, D.C. and European correspondent for the Saturday Evening Post. In the 1920s, Roberts met novelist and playwright Booth Tarkington, who summered in Kennebunkport. Tarkington had a great influence on the young writer and became his lifelong friend and mentor.

In 1928, Roberts decided to pursue writing historical novels. He was insatiably curious about the experiences of his own ancestors, many of whom had been Indian fighters, Revolutionary War soldiers and shipmasters of privateers in the War of 1812. Meticulous research and Roberts' own heritage served as the fodder for his first four historical novels constituting the "Chronicles of Arundel."

With the success of his 1936 book, Northwest Passage, Roberts and his wife had the means to build their dream home between Kennebunkport and Cape Porpoise. Called "Rocky Pasture," the 146-acre estate provided Roberts—famously intolerant of disruption and distraction by "twittery idle people" and "uninvited sightseers"—the peace and quiet he demanded for his work.

Roberts' books were well-received, and many became best sellers with foreign language editions. He made the cover of Time magazine and, just two months before his death, received a special Pulitzer Prize citation for his historical novels.

Roberts died of a coronary thrombosis at Rocky Pasture on July 21, 1957. His beloved home Rocky Pasture succumbed to a fire in 1977 that destroyed all but the stone walls of the house.

His books remain popular with loyal followers, and many of the titles were reprinted as commemorative editions in the 1990s.

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