About the Author
The American novelist Charles Webb (b. 1939) published The Graduate in 1963, and it immediately established him as one of the most important new voices in the literature of his generation. Though Webb has written other books, including The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker, his work is overshadowed by the huge success of The Graduate and its 1967 film version.

When the London stage adaptation of The Graduate began attracting attention in the fall of 2000 -- with Kathleen Turner as Mrs. Robinson -- writer Anthea Gerrie tracked down Webb and his wife, and interviewed them for an article that appeared in the New York Post. Webb took the message of The Graduate quite seriously and has spent his adult life avoiding the kinds of traps he believes materialism lays for people. Both he and his wife have sought to avoid the celebrity and the expectations that success could have brought them, and Webb has given away most of the money he made from the novel. He reportedly sold the film rights for a mere $20,000.

Not unlike J.D. Salinger's response to the world's fascination with The Catcher in the Rye, Webb dislikes being tied solely to The Graduate, which became a standard by which his later work was judged, often unfavorably. In some respects, the novel seems to have been inspired by the story of Webb, his wife and her mother, who disapproved of their relationship and subsequent marriage. Like Benjamin Braddock, Webb is the son of an upper-middle-class couple from southern California. Since his first great success, the writer has shunned the limelight, though he still continues to work. His most recent book, his first in 25 years, is co-authored by his wife, who is known simply as Fred. Ironically, the couple moved to England not long ago in search of anonymity. Once there, they were dismayed to find The Graduate reappear as a highly sensationalized stage play on London's West End.