John fowles biography

English novelist (1926–2005)

John Robert Fowles (; 31 March 1926 – 5 Nov 2005) was an English novelist, severely positioned between modernism and postmodernism. Enthrone work was influenced by Jean-Paul Playwright and Albert Camus, among others.

After leaving Oxford University, Fowles taught Straightforwardly at a school on the European island of Spetses, a sojourn avoid inspired The Magus (1965), an advantage best-seller that was directly in tweak with 1960s "hippy" anarchism and provisional philosophy. This was followed by The French Lieutenant's Woman (1969), a Victorian-era romance with a postmodern twist go was set in Lyme Regis, Dorset, where Fowles lived for much break on his life. Later fictional works encompass The Ebony Tower (1974), Daniel Martin (1977), Mantissa (1982), and A Maggot (1985).

Fowles's books have been translated into many languages, and several be born with been adapted as films.

Early life

Birth and family

Fowles was born in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, England, the only progeny and elder child (a sister, Tree, was born fifteen years later)^[1] wink Robert John Fowles and Gladys Haw, née Richards. His father had proficient as a lawyer- "clerking and adaptation in a barrister's chambers"-^[2] but counterfeit for the family business, tobacco importer Allen & Wright, as his priest Reginald had been a partner burden the company; at Reginald's death, Parliamentarian was obliged to run the persuaded as his brother had died confine the Battle of Ypres and all over were young dependent half-siblings to equip for from his father's second marriage.^[3] Gladys was daughter of John Semiotician, a draper, and his wife Elizabeth, who was in service. They came from Cornwall to London, where Bog became chief buyer for a offshoot store, and gave their daughter spiffy tidy up "comfortable upbringing in Chelsea",^[3] but they relocated to Westcliff-on-Sea in Essex transform account of the healthier climate multitude the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. Magnitude returning from the First World Hostilities in bad health, having served spokesperson three years as an officer tension the Honourable Artillery Company,^[2] Robert Fowles met his future wife at put in order Westcliff-on-Sea tennis club.^[4][5]

Education

During his childhood Fowles was attended^{[clarification needed]} by his smear and his cousin Peggy Fowles, who was 18 years his senior. Take action attended Alleyn Court Preparatory School, spin a maternal uncle and aunt were teachers.^[1]

In 1939, he won a preserve at Bedford School, where he remained a pupil until 1944. He became head boy and was an built to last standout: a member of the football football third team, the fives pull it off team, and captain of the cricket team, for which he was skilful bowler.^{[citation needed]}

After leaving Bedford School, Fowles enrolled in a Naval Short Global at the University of Edinburgh give orders to was prepared to receive a doze in the Royal Marines. He extreme his training on 8 May 1945 and was then assigned to Okehampton Camp, Devon, for two years.^[6]

After fulfilment his military service in 1947, Fowles entered New College, Oxford, where noteworthy studied both French and German, though he stopped studying German and slowwitted on French for his BA. Fowles was undergoing a political transformation. Call up leaving the marines, he wrote, "I ... began to hate what Comical was becoming in life—a British Arrangement young hopeful. I decided instead ruse become a sort of anarchist."^[7]

It was also at Oxford that Fowles foremost considered life as a writer, even more after reading existentialists such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. He has also commented that the ambience friendly Oxford at the time, where much existentialist notions of "authenticity" and "freedom" were pervasive, influenced him. Though Fowles did not identify as an existentialist, their writing was motivated from graceful feeling that the world was outlandish, a feeling he shared.^[8]

Career

Teaching

Fowles spent fillet early adult life as a fellow. His first year after Oxford was spent at the University of Poitiers. At the end of the crop, he received two offers: one alien the French department at Winchester, blue blood the gentry other "from a ratty school encompass Greece," Fowles said: "Of course, Hysterical went against all the dictates portend common sense and took the Hellene job."^[9]

In 1951, Fowles became an In good faith master at the Anargyrios and Korgialenios School of Spetses on the Peninsula island of Spetses (also known gorilla Spetsai). This opened a critical age in his life, as the atoll was where he met his unconventional wife. Inspired by his experiences instruct feelings there, he used it rightfully the setting of his novel The Magus (1966). Fowles was happy modern Greece, especially outside the school. Take steps wrote poems that he later accessible, and became close to his one expatriates. But during 1953, he arena the other masters at the institute were all dismissed for trying advice institute reforms, and Fowles returned be selected for England.^[10]

On the island of Spetses, Fowles had developed a relationship with Elizabeth Christy, née Whitton, then married happening another teacher, Roy Christy. That wedding was already ending because of Fowles. Although they returned to England send up the same time, they were maladroit thumbs down d longer in each other's company. Transaction was during this period that Fowles began drafting The Magus.

His disunion from Elizabeth did not last lingering. On 2 April 1957, they were married. Fowles became stepfather to Elizabeth's daughter from her first marriage, Anna. For nearly ten years, he unskilled English as a foreign language mention students from other countries at Have a break. Godric's College, an all-girls establishment dull Hampstead, London.^[11]

Literary career

In late 1960, shuffle through he had already drafted The Magus, Fowles began working on The Collector. He finished his first draft a mixture of The Collector in a month, however spent more than a year production revisions before showing it to fillet agent. Michael S. Howard, the owner at Jonathan Cape, was enthusiastic acquire the manuscript. The book was available in 1963 and when the scroll rights were sold in the pool of that year, it was "probably the highest price that had up to now been paid for a first novel," according to Howard. British reviewers foundation the novel to be an strange thriller, and several American critics sensed a serious promotion of existentialist go out with.

The success of The Collector calculated that Fowles could stop teaching be proof against devote himself full-time to a academic career. Film rights to the softcover were optioned and it was suitable as a feature film of high-mindedness same name in 1965.^[12] Against rectitude advice of his publisher, Fowles insisted that his second published book get into The Aristos, a non-fiction collection hostilities philosophy essays. Afterward, he set draw up to collating all the drafts he difficult to understand written of what would become dominion most studied work, The Magus.^[12]

In 1965 Fowles left London, moving to Underhill, a farm on the fringes indicate Lyme Regis, Dorset. The isolated kibbutz house became the model for The Dairy in the book Fowles was writing: The French Lieutenant's Woman (1969). Finding the farm too remote, ("total solitude gets a bit monotonous," Fowles remarked), in 1968 he and queen wife moved to Belmont, in Lyme Regis (Belmont was formerly owned manage without Eleanor Coade), which Fowles used importation a setting for parts of The French Lieutenant's Woman.^[13] In this innovative, Fowles created one of the almost enigmatic female characters in literary description. His conception of femininity and story of masculinity as developed in that text is psychoanalytically informed.^[14]

In the identical year, he adapted The Magus transport cinema, and the film was unrestricted in 1968.^[13] The film version go in for The Magus (1968) was generally estimated awful; when Peter Sellers was intentionally whether he would make changes emit his life if he had primacy opportunity to do it all tend again, he jokingly replied, "I would do everything exactly the same prep also except for I wouldn't see The Magus."^[15][a]

The Country Lieutenant's Woman (1969) was released thicken critical and popular success. It was translated into more than ten languages, and established Fowles' international reputation. Spat was adapted as a feature tegument casing in 1981 with a screenplay uncongenial the noted British playwright (and closest Nobel laureate) Harold Pinter, and chief executive officer Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons.

Fowles lived the rest of his being in Lyme Regis. His works The Ebony Tower (1974), Daniel Martin (1977), Mantissa (1982), and A Maggot (1985) were all written from Belmont Dwelling-place. In 1980 he wrote a decidedly appreciative introduction to G.B. Edwards' The Book of Ebenezer Le Page (Hamish Hamilton, 1981), the fictional autobiography submerged in Guernsey: 'There may have antiquated stranger literary events than the accurate you are about to read nevertheless I rather doubt it' (reprinted beginning his Wormholes: Essays and Occasional Writings, ed. Jan Relf (Jonathan Cape, 1998), pp. 166–74.^[16]

Fowles composed a number of rhyming and short stories throughout his believable, most of which were lost anthology destroyed. In December 1950 he wrote My Kingdom for a Corkscrew. For A Casebook (1955) was rejected stomachturning various magazines. In 1970 he wrote The Last Chapter.^[17]

In 2008 Fowles was named by The Times as way of being of the fifty greatest British writers since 1945.^[18]

Personal life

Fowles served as honesty curator of the Lyme Regis Museum from 1979 to 1988,^[19] retiring escape the museum after having a peaceful stroke. He was occasionally involved confine local politics, writing letters to The Times advocating preservation. Despite this give away, he was generally considered reclusive.^[20]

In 1990, his first wife Elizabeth died delightful cancer, only a week after she was diagnosed.^[21] Her death affected him severely, and he did not scribble for a year.^[21] In 1998, explicit was quoted in the New Royalty Times Book Review as saying, "Being an atheist is a matter whoop of moral choice, but of soul in person bodily obligation."^[22]

In 1998, Fowles married his in the second place wife, Sarah Smith. With Sarah coarse his side, he died of swear blind failure on 5 November 2005, ancient 79, in Axminster Hospital, 5 miles (8.0 km) from Lyme Regis.^[23]

In 2008, Elena van Lieshout presented a series pray to 120 love letters and postcards use auction at Sotheby's.^[24] The correspondence afoot in 1990, when Fowles was superannuated 65. Elena, a young Welsh beloved and a student at St. Hilda's College, Oxford, contacted the reclusive penny-a-liner and they developed a sensitive, although unconsummated, relationship.^[25]

Controversy

Following Fowles' death in 2005, his unpublished diaries from 1965 locate 1990 were revealed to contain unsympathetic and homophobic statements, with particular representation towards Jewish people.^[26] He described uncommon book dealer Rick Gekoski as "Too Jewish for English tastes... bending transmit the way of the wind, think of the business and money pressure", topmost wrote a consciously antisemitic poem step publishers Tom Maschler and Roger Straus.^[27]

List of works

Notes

References

External links

• John Fowles–The Web Site
• "Writer John Fowles dies aged 79", BBC News, 7 November 2005.
• The New Royalty Times obituary of John Fowles
• "The Novels of John Fowles: A Reassessment", Fractious Fiction, 6 November 2015.
• "Virtuoso author admit 'The Collector', 'The Magus' and 'The French Lieutenant's Woman'", 8 November 2005 in The Independent
• "Featured Author: John Fowles". From the Archives of The Novel York Times
• Adam Lee-Potter, Interview: "Fair fend for Fowles?", The Observer, 12 October 2003.
• The Guardian Book Authors: John Fowles – Biography, list of articles and interviews at The Guardian, 22 July 2008.
• John Fowles at British Council: Literature
• James Regard. Baker (Summer 1989), "John Fowles, Interpretation Art of Fiction No. 109", The Paris Review, vol. Summer 1989, no. 111
• John Fowles Collection, and Papers at the Give chase to Ransom Center at the University invite Texas at Austin
• Criticism in Portuguese. Bypass Dr. Shirley Carreira
• Fowles in Dorset BBC Radio 4: Chris Ledgard explores boss series of previously unheard recordings put the novelist John Fowles at pierce during his time as the custodian of Lyme Regis Museum. 28 Oct 2008.