HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — J.D. Salinger, the legendary author of the popular book The Catcher in the Rye, has died. He was 91.
The reclusive Salinger, who hadn’t given an interview since 1980, died of natural causes, his son told the Associated Press in a statement from his literary representative. He had lived for decades in self-imposed isolation in a small, remote house in Cornish, N.H.
Published in 1951, The Catcher in the Rye is one of the most popular American books of all time, having sold more than 60 million copies worldwide. It tells the story of a rebellious teen named Holden Caulfield and has long been a middle school staple.
Following the novel’s success, Salinger went on to publish such works as the 1953 short story collection Nine Stories, the 1961 novel and short story Franny and Zooey, and the 1963 two-novel collection Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction.
Salinger’s last published work, Hapworth 16, 1924, appeared in The New Yorker in 1965.
“I love to write and I assure you I write regularly,” he told the Baton Rouge (La.) Advocate in 1980. “But I write for myself, for my own pleasure. And I want to be left alone to do it.”
Salinger is survived by his two children, daughter Margaret and son Matthew.
