Michael Arlen
| Michael Arlen | |
|---|---|
1927 Time cover featuring Arlen
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| Born | Dikran Kouyoumdjian November 16, 1895 Rousse, Bulgaria |
| Died | June 23, 1956 New York |
| Occupation | Armenian essayist, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and scriptwriter |
| Education | Malvern College |
| Notable works |
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| Spouse | Countess Atalanta Mercati |
| Children | Michael J. Arlen, Venetia Arlen |
Michael Arlen (Armenian: Մայքլ Արլեն; November 16, 1895 – June 23, 1956), born Dikran Kouyoumdjian (Armenian: Տիգրան Գույումճյան), was an Armenian essayist, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and scriptwriter, 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. Sydney Horler (1888–1954), another popular author of the time, is said to have called Arlen "the only Armenian who never tried to sell me a carpet", while Arlen half-jokingly described himself as "every other inch a gentleman".
Michael Arlen was born Dikran Kouyoumdjian on November 16, 1895, in Rousse, Bulgaria, to an Armenian merchant family. In 1892, Arlen's family moved to Plovdiv, Bulgaria, after fleeing Turkish persecutions of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. In Plovdiv, Arlen's father, Sarkis Kouyoumdjian, established a successful import business. In 1895, Arlen was born as the youngest child of five, having three brothers, Takvor, Krikor, and Roupen, and one sister, Ahavni. In 1901, apparently not feeling satisfied with Bulgaria's position in the oncoming war, Arlen's family moved once more: this time to the seaside town of Southport in Lancashire, England.
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