BERYL BAINBRIDGE

'Dame Beryl Margaret Bainbridge, DBE' (b. 21 November 1932, Liverpool) is an English novelist.
She has been nominated for the Booker Prize several times, but has never won it. In spite of this, she has been described as one of the greatest living British novelists.

Contents

Biography

Bibliography

See also

External links

Biography

Bainbridge was born in Liverpool, raised in nearby Formby and educated at Merchant Taylors' School. She spent her early years working as an actress and appeared in a 1961 episode of the soap opera ''Coronation Street'' playing an anti-nuclear protestor. She also acted on stage before leaving the theatre to have her first child. Stu Sutcliffe, an early member of The Beatles who was to die tragically young, would sometimes work as a baby sitter for her.
Her first novel, ''Harriet Said...'' was written at this time, it was to be her third published novel, having been rejected by several publishers who found it "repulsive", and "indecent". It was published after ''Another Part of the Wood'' (1968) and ''An Awfully Big Adventure'' (1970).
Her early novels are retellings of her life, such as ''An Awfully Big Adventure'' which is set in provincial theatre and was adapated as a film by Mike Newell in 1995, starring Alan Rickman and Hugh Grant.
She later turned to her family's history, and after that historical novels, such as ''Master Georgie'' set in the Crimean War.
Her most recent novel, ''According to Queeney'' is a fictionalized account of the last years of the life of Samuel Johnson as seen through the eyes of 'Queeney Thrale', eldest daughter of Henry Thrale and Hester Thrale, and received wide acclaim.
She is a convert to Roman Catholicism.

Bibliography

'Novels'

★ 1967 - ''A Weekend with Claud

★ 1968 - ''Another Part of the Wood''

★ 1972 - ''Harriet Said...''

★ 1973 - ''The Dressmaker''

★ 1974 - ''The Bottle Factory Outing''

★ 1975 - ''Sweet William''

★ 1976 - ''A Quiet Life''

★ 1977 - ''Injury Time''

★ 1978 - ''Young Adolf''

★ 1979 - ''Another Part of the Wood'' (revised edition)

★ 1980 - ''Winter Garden''

★ 1981 - ''A Weekend with Claude'' (revised edition)

★ 1984 - ''English Journey''

★ 1984 - ''Watson's Apology''

★ 1989 - ''An Awfully Big Adventure''

★ 1991 - ''The Birthday Boys''

★ 1996 - ''Every Man for Himself''

★ 1998 - ''Master Georgie''

★ 2001 - ''According to Queeney''

★ 2008 - ''The Girl in the Polka-Dot Dress''
'Stories'

★ 1985 - ''Mum and Mr Armitage''

★ 1994 - ''Collected Stories''
'Non-Fiction'

★ 1984 - ''English Journey''

★ 1987 - ''

★ 1993 - ''Something Happened Yesterday''

See also

★ Faction

External links

★ Guardian interview

★ "Author page" at The Guardian

★ BBC audio interviews

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