Novelist Ernest J. Gaines Dies At Age 86
He won awards for his depictions of rural Louisiana featuring universal themes of hard work, sacrifice and resilience. His book The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman became a much-honored TV movie.
Novelist Ernest J. Gaines, acclaimed author of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, and other novels about the struggles of African Americans in rural Louisiana, died at his home in Oscar, La., Tuesday at the age of 86.
Gaines died in his sleep of cardiac arrest, to The Associated Press, citing the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. He is survived by his wife Dianne Saulney Gaines,
