John Gerard Braine (13 April 1922 – 28 October 1986) was an English novelist. Braine is usually listed among the

angry young men The "angry young men" were a group of mostly working- and middle-class British playwrights and novelists who became prominent in the 1950s. The group's leading figures included John Osborne and Kingsley Amis; other popular figures included John ...

, a loosely defined group of English writers who emerged on the literary scene in the 1950s.

Biography

John Braine was born in the Westgate area of central

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

. The family later moved to the suburb of Thackley on the northern edge of the city. Braine left St. Bede's Grammar School at 16 and worked in a shop, a laboratory and a factory before becoming, after the war, a librarian in

Bingley Bingley is a market town and civil parish in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, on the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, which had a population of 18,294 at the 2011 Census. Bingley railwa ...

, a small town up the Aire Valley and at

Darton Darton is a large village in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley (part of South Yorkshire), on the border with West Yorkshire, England. At the time of the 2001 UK census, it had a population of 14,927, increasing to 21,345 for both Darton Ward ...

in 1954 where locals put his inattention down to his spending his time writing his first novel. Although he wrote 12 works of fiction, Braine is chiefly remembered today for his first novel, '' Room at the Top'' (1957). The novel was conceived when he was being treated for

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in a hospital near the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Yorkshire, England, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954. The Dales comprise river valleys and the hills ri ...

town of

Grassington Grassington is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. The population of the parish at the 2011 Census was 1,126. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is situated in Wharfedale ...

. He stated that his favourite author was

Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destin ...

and that ''Room at the Top'' was based on ''

Bel Ami ''Bel-Ami'' (, "Dear Friend") is the second novel by French author Guy de Maupassant, published in 1885; an English translation titled ''Bel Ami, or, The History of a Scoundrel: A Novel'' first appeared in 1903. The story chronicles journalist ...

'', but that "the critics didn't pick it up". ''Room at the Top'' was turned into a successful 1959 film, with

Laurence Harvey Laurence Harvey (born Zvi Mosheh Skikne; 1 October 192825 November 1973) was a Lithuanian-born British actor and film director. He was born to Lithuanian Jewish parents and emigrated to South Africa at an early age, before later settling in th ...

as Joe Lampton and featuring an Oscar–winning performance by

Simone Signoret Simone Signoret (; born Simone Henriette Charlotte Kaminker; 25 March 1921 – 30 September 1985) was a French actress. She received various accolades, including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, a César Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a ...

. In September 2012, BBC television broadcast a two-part dramatisation that had been delayed because of a dispute over copyright.

Matthew McNulty Michael Anthony McNulty (born 14 December 1982), known professionally as Matthew McNulty, is a German-born British actor. Early life McNulty was born on 14 December 1982 in Hanover, Lower Saxony, West Germany, and lived in Berlin and Münster ...

was in the lead role. After achieving literary success, Braine moved to the south of England, living for a time in

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

. He wrote several more novels, including ''

Life at the Top ''Life At The Top'' is the third novel by the English author John Braine, first published in the UK by Eyre & Spottiswoode Eyre & Spottiswoode was the London-based printing firm that was the King's Printer, and subsequently, a publisher prior ...

'', a sequel to ''Room at the Top''. His 1968 novel ''

The Crying Game ''The Crying Game'' is a 1992 thriller film written and directed by Neil Jordan, produced by Stephen Woolley, and starring Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson, Jaye Davidson, Adrian Dunbar, Ralph Brown, and Forest Whitaker. The film explores the ...

'' is set in London and captures some of the atmosphere of the '

Swinging Sixties The Swinging Sixties was a youth-driven cultural revolution that took place in the United Kingdom during the mid-to-late 1960s, emphasising modernity and fun-loving hedonism, with Swinging London as its centre. It saw a flourishing in art, mus ...

' (it is not related to the 1992 film of the same name). His 1974 book, ''Writing a Novel'', was a guide for aspiring novelists. Braine was mildly left-wing in his youth, but, like his contemporaries (and fellow "angry young men")

Kingsley Amis Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social an ...

and

John Wain John Barrington Wain CBE (14 March 1925 – 24 May 1994) was an English poet, novelist, and critic, associated with the literary group known as "The Movement". He worked for most of his life as a freelance journalist and author, writing and revi ...

, he later moved to the political right and supported America's involvement in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. In 1967, Braine,

Robert Conquest George Robert Acworth Conquest (15 July 1917 – 3 August 2015) was a British historian and poet. A long-time research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, Conquest was most notable for his work on the Soviet Union. His books ...

, Amis and several others signed a controversial letter to ''

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 ...

'' titled "Backing for U.S. Policies in Vietnam", supporting the US government in Vietnam. Braine was married to Helen Wood and had four children. They separated in the early 1980s with Wood moving to

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

with her two youngest children. He died from a gastric haemorrhage in 1986 at the age of 64.

Select bibliography

Fiction

*'' Room at the Top'' (1957) Reissued in 2013 by

Valancourt Books Valancourt Books is an independent American publishing house founded by James Jenkins and Ryan Cagle in 2005. The company specializes in "the rediscovery of rare, neglected, and out-of-print fiction," in particular gay titles and Gothic and horr ...

*''

The Vodi ''The Vodi'' is a novel by John Braine, first published in the United Kingdom in 1959 by Eyre & Spottiswoode. A revised version was published in 1978. Plot summary Dick Corvey is suffering from advanced tuberculosis in a provincial sanitariu ...

'' (1959) Reissued in 2013 by Valancourt Books *''

'' (1962) Reissued in 2015 by Valancourt Books *''

The Jealous God ''The Jealous God'' is a novel by John Braine which was first published in 1964. Set in the early 1960s among the Irish Catholic community in a small Yorkshire town, the book is about a 30-year-old mummy's boy and his attempts at liberating hi ...

'' (1964) *''

'' (1968) (not related to the 1992 film of the same title) *''

Stay with Me Till Morning ''Stay with Me Till Morning'' is a 1970 novel by the British writer John Braine. In 1981 it was adapted into a three-part television series by the same name. Produced by Yorkshire Television it starred Nanette Newman and Keith Barron Keith ...

'' (1970) (U.S. title: "The View from Tower Hill") *'' The Queen of a Distant Country'' (1972) *'' The Pious Agent'' (1975) *''

Waiting for Sheila ''Waiting for Sheila'' is a 1976 novel by the British writer John Braine. Julian Barnes wrote a scathing review of the novel in the ''New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British Political magazine, political and cultural magazine publi ...

'' (1976) *''Finger of Fire'' (1977) *''One and Last Love'' (1981) *''The Two of Us'' (1984) *''These Golden Days'' (1985) *'' Man at the Top'' (

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a Broadcast license, franchise holder for a region of the British ITV (TV network), ITV television network serving Greater London, London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until th ...

, 1970-1): five scripts for the first series of this drama based on Braine's character Joe LamptonSee the review at DVDCompare, of the 2010 UK DVD release
DVDCompare review
/ref>

Non-fiction

*''A Personal Record'' (Monday Club, 1968) *''Writing a Novel'' (1974) *''J.B. Priestley'' (1978)

References

External links

* John Braine archival collection at {{DEFAULTSORT:Braine, John 1922 births 1986 deaths Writers from Bradford People from Bingley People from Woking People educated at St. Bede's Grammar School Booker authors' division 20th-century English novelists English male novelists 20th-century English male writers