Trivia

In the Second World War. Robbins refused to leave France when the Germans invaded, and spent most of the war in an internment camp. He survived and penned one final novel, Close their Eyes Tenderly, which appeared in 1947.

Enjoyed playing tennis together with his fourth wife Nellie Anderson, because she was a noted British tennis player.

In 1909 he caused a scandal in Brooklyn by eloping with Edith Norman Hyde. The marriage, which produced two sons, did not last long, and in 1914 they were divorced. Edith went on to win the first 'Miss America' title in 1919.

His grandfather, Aaron Robbins, was a successful merchant; his parents, Clarence and Eloise, were prominent members of New York society.