Eric Lawson Malpass (14 November 1910 – 16 October 1996)
was an English novelist noted for witty descriptions of rural family life, notably of his creation, the extended Pentecost family. He also wrote
historical fiction ranging from the late Middle Ages to Edwardian England, and acquired a devoted readership on the Continent, particularly in Germany, where most of his books were translated.
Life
Born in
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...
and educated at
King Henry VIII School, Coventry
King Henry VIII School is a coeducational independent day school located in Coventry, England, comprising a senior school (ages 11–18) and associated preparatory school (ages 3–11). The senior school has approximately 800 pupils (120 in eac ...
, Malpass, while writing in his spare time, worked for
Barclays Bank
Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.
Barclays traces ...
in
Long Eaton
Long Eaton is a town in the Erewash district of Derbyshire, England, just north of the River Trent, about south-west of Nottingham and some 8½ miles (13.7 km) south-east of Derby. The town population was 37,760 at the 2011 census. It has ...
, Derbyshire. He would return home after a day's work and spend the evening writing. He was a regular contributor to
Argosy, a short story magazine although it took him many years before he was first published. Many other short story magazines took his work and in 1955 he won the ''
Observer
An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment.
Observer may also refer to:
Computer science and information theory
* In information theory, any system which receives information from an object
* State observer in co ...
'' short story competition.
His first book, ''Beefy Jones'', soon followed, and then ''Morning's at Seven'' which received good reviews, but poor sales in the UK. However, it topped the bestseller list of ''
Der Spiegel'' in Germany and remained there for three years, after which it was stipulated that no book could remain there for so long in future. After his initial successes, especially with ''Morning's at Seven'', he turned to writing full-time. The bank refused initially to accept his resignation, then said he would forfeit his pension and only changed its mind after very protracted discussions.
Married, with one son, two granddaughters and five great grandchildren, Malpass lived in Long Eaton until five years before his death, when he moved to
Bishop's Waltham
Bishop's Waltham (or Bishops Waltham) is a medieval market town situated at the source of the River Hamble in Hampshire, England. It has a foot in the South Downs National Park and is located at the midpoint of a long-established route betw ...
in Hampshire.
Novels
Tales from the Pentecost Family:
*''Morning's at Seven'' (London:
Heinemann, 1965)
*''
At the Height of the Moon'' (London: Heinemann, 1967)
*''
Fortinbras Has Escaped'' (London:
Pan Books
Pan Books is a publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany.
Pan Books began as an independent publisher, es ...
, 1970)
*''
The Long Long Dances'' (London:
Corgi
The Welsh Corgi ( or Corgi, plural Corgis, or occasionally the etymologically consistent Corgwn; ) is a small type of herding dog that originated in Wales. The name ''corgi'' is derived from the Welsh words and (which is mutated to ), mean ...
, 1978)
*''
Summer Awakening'' (London: Corgi, 1978)
*''Evensong'' (1982)
*''
Pig-in-the-Middle'' (1989)
Other humorous novels:
*''
Beefy Jones'' (London:
Longmans, Green & Co., 1957)
*''
Oh My Darling Daughter'' (London:
Eyre & Spottiswoode
Eyre & Spottiswoode was the London-based printing firm that was the King's Printer, and subsequently, a publisher prior to being incorporated; it once went by the name of Spottiswoode, Ballantyne & co. ltd. In April 1929, it was incorporated as E ...
, 1970)
*''
Familie Limmerick'' (1971)
The Shakespeare Trilogy:
*Part I: ''
Sweet Will'' (London:
Macmillan, 1973)
*Part II: ''
The Cleopatra Boy'' (London: Macmillan, 1974)
*Part III: ''
A House of Women'' (London: Macmillan, 1975)
Other novels with historical background:
*''
The Wind Brings Up the Rain'' (London: Heinemann, 1978)
*''
The Raising of Lazarus Pike'' (1980)
*''
The Lamplight and the Stars'' (London:
Hamlyn, 1985)
*''
Of Human Frailty'' (a
biographical novel
The biographical novel is a genre of novel which provides a fictional account of a contemporary or historical person's life. Like other forms of biographical fiction, details are often trimmed or reimagined to meet the artistic needs of the fict ...
of
Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry ...
) (London:
Robert Hale, 1986)
All his novels were republished in 2001 by
House of Stratus.
Short stories
*"
The Return of the Moon Man"
Filmed versions
Malpass's books have never been filmed in his native England. Rather, it was mainly in Germany again where his success story continued on the big screen.
*''
Morgens um sieben ist die Welt noch in Ordnung'' (''In the Morning at Seven the World Is Still in Order'') (
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
, 1968) — directed by
Kurt Hoffmann
Kurt Hoffmann (12 November 1910 – 25 June 2001) was a German film director, the son of Carl Hoffmann. He directed 48 films between 1938 and 1971. He ran a production company Independent Film along with Heinz Angermeyer.
His 1958 film ' ...
, starring
Archibald Eser
Archibald is a masculine given name, composed of the Germanic elements '' erchan'' (with an original meaning of "genuine" or "precious") and ''bald'' meaning "bold".
Medieval forms include Old High German and Anglo-Saxon .
Erkanbald, bishop o ...
(as seven-year-old Gaylord Pentecost),
Gerlinde Locker,
Werner Hinz
Werner Hinz (18 January 1903 – 10 February 1985) was a German film actor. He appeared in 70 films between 1935 and 1984.
Selected filmography
* '' The Old and the Young King'' (1935) - Kronprinz Friedrich ('Fritz')
* '' White Slaves'' ( ...
,
Agnes Windeck
Agnes Windeck (; 27 March 1888 – 28 September 1975) was a German theatre and film actress. She appeared in more than 50 films between 1939 and 1973. She was born in Hamburg and started her career at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in 1904. S ...
and
Diana Körner
Diana Körner (born 24 September 1944) is a German actress. Outside Germany she is known for her brief appearance as Lieschen in Stanley Kubrick's film '' Barry Lyndon''.
Selected filmography
* '' Creature with the Blue Hand'' (1967), as Myr ...
; music by
James Last
James Last (, ; born Hans Last; 17 April 1929 – 9 June 2015), also known as Hansi, was a German composer and big band leader of the James Last Orchestra. Initially a jazz bassist (Last won the award for "best bassist" in Germany in each of ...
; based on ''Morning's at Seven''
*' (''When Sweet Moonlight Is Sleeping in the Hills'') (West Germany, 1969) — a sequel to the 1968 movie; directed by
Wolfgang Liebeneiner
Wolfgang Georg Louis Liebeneiner (6 October 1905 – 28 November 1987) was a German actor, film director and theatre director.
Beginnings
He was born in Liebau in Prussian Silesia. In 1928, he was taught by Otto Falckenberg, the director of th ...
, with more or less the same cast; based on ''At the Height of the Moon''
*''
Als Mutter streikte'' (''When Mother Went on Strike'') (West Germany, 1974) — directed by
Eberhard Schröder Eberhard is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar.
People
First name
*Eberhard of Friuli (815–866), Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire
* Eberhard of Béthune (died 1212), Flemish grammarian
*Eberhard I, D ...
, starring
Peter Hall,
Johanna Matz,
Gila von Weitershausen
Baroness Gila von Weitershausen (; born March 21, 1944) is a German actress. Born in Trebnitz (today Trzebnica), Lower Silesia, Germany (today Poland) into an aristocratic family, she has three brothers and two sisters and is the great-granddaugh ...
,
Gaby Dohm
Gaby Dohm (born 23 September 1943 in Salzburg) is a German actress. She is the daughter of actor Will Dohm and actress Heli Finkenzeller.
Selected filmography
* ''When Mother Went on Strike'' (1974)
* '' The Serpent's Egg'' (1977)
* '' Doktor F ...
and
Elisabeth Flickenschildt
Elisabeth Ida Marie Flickenschildt (16 March 1905 – 26 October 1977) was a German actress, producer and author. She appeared in dozens of German language films and television productions between 1935–1976.
Flickenschildt was born in Hamburg ...
; based on ''Oh My Darling Daughter''
*''Mon ami Gaylord'' (France, 1979) — a six-part
mini-series directed by
Pierre Goutas, also based on ''Morning's at Seven''.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malpass, Eric
1910 births
1996 deaths
People from Derby
People educated at King Henry VIII School, Coventry
20th-century English novelists