"The purpose of this paper is to present the life and works of Irving Stone, and to show his development as a writer of a particular literary form, the biographical novel. It is assumed that in the development of the biographical novel, Stone has made a contribution to American literature"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "August, 1955." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts." / Advisor: Sara K. Srygley, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 66-68).