Barry England (16 March 1932 – 21 May 2009) was an English novelist and playwright. He is chiefly known for his 1968 thriller ''
Figures in a Landscape
''Figures in a Landscape'' was Barry England's first novel. Published by Jonathan Cape in the summer of 1968, it was hailed by critics as an exemplary addition to the literature of escape. Two professional soldiers, Ansell and MacConnachie, hav ...
'', which was nominated for the inaugural
Booker Prize
The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a Literary award, literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United King ...
.
Life and work
England was raised in a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
household and studied at
Downside School
Downside School is a co-educational Catholic independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition for pupils aged 11 to 18. It is located between Bath, Frome, Wells and Bruton, and is attached to Downside Abbey.
Originall ...
. He joined the British Army and served in the Far Eastern theatre, where he did his share of arduous marches "over two or three mountains in a day". His stint in the army would serve England well later in his literary career. He studied at
RADA
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...
as a playwright, and around this time began writing pieces for magazines. The first of England's plays to be produced was ''End of Conflict'', which was staged at the
Belgrade Theatre
The Belgrade Theatre is a live performance venue in Coventry, England. It was the first civic theatre to be built in Britain after the Second World War and is now a Grade II listed building.
Background
Coventry was the fastest growing city in ...
in Coventry in November 1961. The young
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural i ...
played one of the principal roles in this story of British soldiers serving in the Far East. The success of ''End of Conflict'' led to the
Arts Council awarding a playwriting
bursary
A bursary is a monetary award made by any educational institution or funding authority to individuals or groups. It is usually awarded to enable a student to attend school, university or college when they might not be able to, otherwise. Some awa ...
to England.
In 1963, the Belgrade staged England's next play ''The Big Contract'', a story of industrial dispute in a large firm. England also wrote plays for television throughout the 1960s, for example, ''The Move After Checkmate'', a crime thriller that was broadcast in 1966 as part of
Anglia Television
ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated b ...
's "Play of the Week" series.
''Figures in a Landscape''
''Figures in a Landscape'' was England's first novel. Published by
Jonathan Cape
Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960.
Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...
in the summer of 1968, it was hailed by critics as an exemplary addition to the literature of escape. Two professional soldiers, Ansell and MacConnachie, have escaped from a column of
POWs
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...
in an unnamed country in the tropics. Safety across the border lies 400 miles away; in the meantime, they must make their way through alien territory, battling the climate and the terrain as well as the enemy's soldiers and helicopters. ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' called the book "a fiercely masochistic accomplishment" and concluded another review as follows:
In 1970 the novel was made into the film
a film directed by
Joseph Losey
Joseph Walton Losey III (; January 14, 1909 – June 22, 1984) was an American theatre and film director, producer, and screenwriter. Born in Wisconsin, he studied in Germany with Bertolt Brecht and then returned to the United States. Blackliste ...
with
Robert Shaw and
Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor; 13 June 1943) is a British actor, producer, and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Alex DeLarge in ''A Clockwork Orange.'' He was born in the Horsforth suburb of Leeds and raised in ...
in the two main roles. According to ''The Times'', England had been working on a second novel provisionally entitled ''The Other Woman'', but it is unclear whether this book ever saw the light of day.
England's other significant work was the play ''
Conduct Unbecoming
Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman (or conduct unbecoming for short) is an offense that is subject to court martial in the armed forces of some nations.
Use in the United Kingdom
The phrase was used as a charge in courts martial of ...
''. First staged in May 1969 at the
Theatre Royal in Bristol, the story concerns a scandal in a regiment of the
Indian cavalry
Indian cavalry is the name collectively given to the Midwest and Eastern American Indians who fought during the American Civil War, most of them on horseback and for the Confederate States of America.
Indian units in the CS Armed forces Cherokee ...
in the 1880s. ''Conduct Unbecoming'' transferred to the
West End in July 1969, playing at the
Queen's Theatre.
Michael Billington wrote of the play:
This play too was translated into a film,
''Conduct Unbecoming'', with
Stacy Keach
Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor and narrator. He has played mainly dramatic roles throughout his career, often in law enforcement or as a private detective. His most prominent role was as Mickey Spillane's fictiona ...
,
Richard Attenborough
Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. He was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Academy of Film and Televisio ...
and
Trevor Howard
Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith (29 September 1913 – 7 January 1988) was an English stage, film, and television actor. After varied work in the theatre, he achieved star status with his role in the film ''Brief Encounter'' (1945), followed by ''T ...
in starring roles. England's second novel, ''No Man's Land'', was published by Jonathan Cape in 1997.
[https://www.waterstones.com/book/no-mans-land/barry-england/9780755103171 ]
Personal life
He married actress
Diane Clare
Diane Clare (born Diane Dirsztay; 8 July 1938 – 21 June 2013) was an English film and television actress.
Career
Clare started acting at a very young age playing uncredited baby parts in films such as ''The Ghosts of Berkeley Square'' and ' ...
(1938–2013) in 1967, with whom he had two children; Kate and Christopher. They remained married until his death in 2009.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:England, Barry
Alumni of RADA
English Roman Catholics
People educated at Downside School
1932 births
2009 deaths
Place of birth missing
Place of death missing
British male dramatists and playwrights
English male novelists
20th-century English novelists
20th-century English dramatists and playwrights
20th-century English male writers