Peter Bradford Benchley was an American author, born into a literary family, who is best known for writing the novel Jaws and co-writing the screenplay for its successful film adaptation. Benchley was the son of author Nathaniel Benchley and grandson of Algonquin Round Table founder Robert Benchley. He was born in 1940 and grew up in a literary environment that influenced his career as a writer. After graduating from college, he worked for The Washington Post, then as an editor at Newsweek and a speechwriter in the White House.
Benchley's most famous work, Jaws, was inspired by a news article about a fisherman catching a large great white shark and the tragic Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916. The novel was published in 1974, and its success led to many publishers commissioning books about mutant animals threatening communities. The subsequent film, directed by Steven Spielberg and co-written by Benchley, is generally acknowledged as the first summer blockbuster. Benchley's success with Jaws led to the adaptation of several of his other novels into films, including The Deep and The Island.
Later in life, Benchley came to regret writing such thriller novels, which he felt increased fear and caused unnecessary culls of sharks as predators in the ocean ecosystem. He became an active advocate for marine conservation, using his platform to raise awareness about the importance of preserving the marine environment. Benchley's growing interest in ecological issues was reflected in his novels, including Girl of the Sea of Cortez, which was far and away his best reviewed book and has attracted a considerable cult following since its publication. Sea of Cortez signposted Benchley's future role as an impassioned and intelligent defender of the importance of redressing the current imbalance between human activities and the marine environment.
During the 1980s, Benchley wrote three novels that did not sell as well as his previous works. However, his semi-autobiographical work, Rummies, which appeared in 1989, gained considerable attention. The novel is loosely inspired by the Benchley family's history of alcohol abuse and takes a wildly improbable thriller-type turn in the second half. Benchley returned to nautical themes in his 1991 novel, Beast, about a giant squid threatening Bermuda, and his 1994 novel, White Shark, about a Nazi-created genetically engineered shark/human hybrid. Despite his contributions to literature and marine conservation, Benchley's later works failed to achieve popular or critical success. He passed away in 2006, leaving behind a legacy as a successful author and advocate for marine conservation.