Daniel Keyes, author of the classic book ‘Flowers for Algernon,’ dies at 86
Daniel Keyes, the author of the enduring classic “Flowers for Algernon,” the fictional account of a mouse and a man whose IQs are artificially, temporarily and tragically increased, died June 15 at his home in southern Florida. He was 86.
The cause was complications from pneumonia, said his daughter Leslie Keyes.
First published in 1959 as a short story, “Flowers for Algernon” was released in novel form in 1966 and has since sold millions of copies. Generations of English students have met Charlie Gordon, the book’s narrator, through the journal entries Mr. Keyes crafted in stunted, then elegant and then again stunted prose revealing his character’s transformation.
Millions more saw “Charly,” director Ralph Nelson’s 1968 film adaptation starring Cliff Robertson in an Academy Award-winning performance, or watched the television movies and musical based on the novel. Mr. Keyes explored the human mind in several other volumes, but “Flowers for Algernon” remained his defining work.
RIP, Dear SIr.