Adria Locke Langley

Born 1904

Died 1983
Los Angeles, CA

Adria Langley grew up in Stanton, NE. The earliest years of the Great Depression found her in difficult circumstances, and she arrived in Louisiana in 1929 the divorced single mother of a baby girl. She used her experiences in Louisiana to write a sensational Roman à clef based on the life of Huey Long, A Lion Is in the Streets. Published in 1945, the book was a best seller, and eventually she was paid $250,000 for the movie rights. James Cagney would star in the movie, which came out in 1953. In early interviews, she denied the book was based on Long's life, for fear of being sued. She was also very well known in the 1920s as an opponent of prohibition. The book was her only real success. She wrote for magazines thereafter.

Places Lived

Stanton, NE
Santa Monica, CA

Author Of

Fiction

Keywords

Novels; Populism; Huey Long

Education

Fremont College, was graduated at thirteen with a teaching certificate
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL

Occupation

Writer
Administrator for New York welfare agency

Honors

A Lion in the Streets was considered for the 1944 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer prize of $125,000 - the work was passed over due to fear of a libel suit (the story was based roughly on the life of Louisiana politician Huey Long).

Bibliography

A Lion Is in the Streets, 1945

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