Eric Knight Home Page
Welcome to the Lassie Family Website. This is dedicated to Eric M.
Knight, author of the beloved children's novel, Lassie Come-Home. We hope you enjoy learning about the creator
of what has become the world's most well-known canine, LASSIE!
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Eric Knight on the movie set with Pal |
Eric Knight was born April 10, 1897 in Yorkshire, England. This lush countryside
was the setting he chose for Lassie's adventures. Knight grew up in the mill towns where stories of "come-home"
dogs were common. He was raised by an aunt and uncle, worked and went to school as a youngster part time. Immigrating to the
US in 1912, he settled in Philadelphia. He studied music and art and attended the Cambridge Latin School in Massachusettes.
Always a patriot, he joined the Princess Pat Regiment in Toronto, Canada
to fight in WWI for his beloved Yorkshire in 1917. His only two brothers enlisted
in the 110th Pennsylvania National Guard. They were killed on the same day in 1918.
Here Eric sits with the first Lassie, "Pal" on the MGM movie set in Hollywood.
To
learn more about Eric Knight, try to locate some of his other novels at a library, online, or used book stores . They
are semi-autobiographical and give a good picture of his life: Invitation to Life, Greenberg, 1934; The Flying Yorkshireman,
Harper, 1936; Song on Your Bugles, Harper, 1937; You Play the Black and the Red Comes Up, (under pseudonym Richard
Hallas) R.M McBride, 1938; The Happy Land, Harper, 1940; Lassie Come-Home, Winston, 1940; This Above All,
Harper 1941; Sam Small Flies Again: The Amazing Adventures of the Flying Yorkshireman, (short stories) Harper, 1942.