Sir Malcolm Stanley Bradbury, (7 September 1932 – 27 November 2000) was an English author and academic.

Life

Bradbury was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

, the son of a railwayman. His family moved to London in 1935, but returned to Sheffield in 1941 with his brother and mother. The family later moved to

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

and in 1943 Bradbury attended

West Bridgford West Bridgford is a town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Rushcliffe in the county of Nottinghamshire, England. It lies immediately south of the city of Nottingham, from which the River Trent divides it. Forming part of the Not ...

Grammar School, where he remained until 1950. He read English at

University College, Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

, gaining a first-class degree in 1953. He continued his studies at

Queen Mary College, University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and previously Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University of ...

, where he gained his MA in 1955. Between 1955 and 1958 Bradbury moved between teaching posts with the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...

and

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

in the United States. He returned to England in 1958 for a major heart operation; such was his heart condition that he was not expected to live beyond middle age. In 1959, while in hospital, he completed his first novel, '' Eating People is Wrong''. Bradburygrave

Bradbury married Elizabeth Salt and they had two sons. He took up his first teaching post as an adult-education tutor at the

University of Hull , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 million ...

. With his study on

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

in 1962 he began his career of writing and editing critical books. From 1961 to 1965 he taught at the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

. He completed his PhD in

American studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, history, society, and culture. It traditionally incorporates literary criticism, historiography and critical theory. Schol ...

at the University of Manchester in 1962, moving to the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

(his second novel, ''Stepping Westward'', appeared in 1965), where he became Professor of American Studies in 1970 and launched the MA in Creative Writing course, attended by both

Ian McEwan Ian Russell McEwan, (born 21 June 1948) is an English novelist and screenwriter. In 2008, ''The Times'' featured him on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945" and ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked him number 19 in its list of th ...

and

Kazuo Ishiguro Sir Kazuo Ishiguro ( ; born 8 November 1954) is a British novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer. Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki, Japan, and moved to Britain in 1960 with his parents when he was five. He is one of the most cr ...

. He published ''Possibilities: Essays on the State of the Novel'' in 1973, ''The History Man'' in 1975, ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' in 1976, ''Rates of Exchange'' in 1983 and '' Cuts: A Very Short Novel'' in 1987. He retired from academic life in 1995. Bradbury became a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1991 for services to literature and was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are ...

in the New Year Honours 2000, again for services to literature. Bradbury died at Priscilla Bacon Lodge, Colman Hospital, Norwich, attended by his wife and their two sons, Matthew and Dominic. He was buried on 4 December 2000 in the churchyard of St Mary's parish church,

Tasburgh Tasburgh ( ) is a civil parish and a village in the south of Norfolk, England, located approximately 8 miles south of Norwich. It lies on the A140 road, north of Long Stratton and south of Newton Flotman. The River Tas flows nearby and Tasbu ...

, a village near Norwich where the Bradburys owned a second home. Though he was not an orthodox religious believer, he respected the traditions and socio-cultural role of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

and enjoyed visiting churches in the spirit of

Philip Larkin Philip Arthur Larkin (9 August 1922 – 2 December 1985) was an English poet, novelist, and librarian. His first book of poetry, ''The North Ship'', was published in 1945, followed by two novels, ''Jill'' (1946) and ''A Girl in Winter'' (1947 ...

's poem "Church Going".

Works

Bradbury was a productive academic writer as well as a successful teacher; an expert on the

modern novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", its ...

, he published books on

Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; 10 July 1915 – 5 April 2005) was a Canadian-born American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only w ...

and E. M. Forster, as well as editions of such modern classics as F. Scott Fitzgerald's ''

The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby ...

'', and a number of surveys and handbooks of modern fiction, both British and American. However, he is best known to a wider public as a novelist. Although often compared with his contemporary David Lodge, a friend who has also written

campus novel A campus novel, also known as an academic novel, is a novel whose main action is set in and around the campus of a university. The genre in its current form dates back to the early 1950s. ''The Groves of Academe'' by Mary McCarthy, published in ...

s, Bradbury's books are consistently darker in mood and less playful both in style and language. In 1986 he wrote a short humorous book titled ''Why Come to Slaka?'', a parody of travel books, dealing with

Slaka Slaka is a locality situated in Linköping Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom ...

, the fictional

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

an country that is the setting for his novel ''Rates of Exchange'', a 1983 novel that was shortlisted for the

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 prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...

. Bradbury also wrote extensively for television, including scripting series such as ''

Anything More Would Be Greedy ''Anything More Would Be Greedy'' is a six-part television comedy-drama miniseries was written and created by Malcolm Bradbury and directed by Rodney Bennett, this series was produced by Anglia Television for the ITV Network, first aired on IT ...

'', '' The Gravy Train'', the sequel ''The Gravy Train Goes East'' (which explored life in Bradbury's fictional Slaka), and adapting novels such as Tom Sharpe's ''

Blott on the Landscape ''Blott on the Landscape'' is a novel by Tom Sharpe which was first published in 1975. The book was adapted into a 6-part television series of the same name for BBC television in 1985. Plot The story revolves around the proposed construction o ...

'' and ''

Porterhouse Blue ''Porterhouse Blue'' is a novel written by Tom Sharpe, first published in 1974. A satirical look at Cambridge life and the struggle between tradition and reform, ''Porterhouse Blue'' tells the story of Skullion, the Head Porter of Porterhouse, ...

'',

Alison Lurie Alison Stewart Lurie (September 3, 1926December 3, 2020) was an American novelist and academic. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her 1984 novel ''Foreign Affairs''. Although better known as a novelist, she wrote many non-fiction book ...

's ''Imaginary Friends'' and

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 ...

's '' The Green Man''. His last television script was for '' Dalziel and Pascoe'' series 5, produced by

Andy Rowley Andy Rowley (born 28 December 1959; Preston, Lancashire) is a British television producer known for his children's dramas, including '' Jeopardy'', which won a BAFTA Award for best children's drama in 2002, and '' Microsoap'', Prix Jeunesse winne ...

. The episode " Foreign Bodies" was screened on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

on 15 July 2000. His work was often humorous and ironic, mocking academe,

British culture British culture is influenced by the combined nations' history; its historically Christian religious life, its interaction with the cultures of Europe, the traditions of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland and the impact of the British Empire ...

, and

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

, usually with a

picaresque The picaresque novel ( Spanish: ''picaresca'', from ''pícaro'', for "rogue" or "rascal") is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish, but "appealing hero", usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corru ...

tone.

Selected bibliography

*'' Eating People is Wrong'' (1959) *''Writers and Critics: Evelyn Waugh'' (Oliver and Boyd, 1964) *''Stepping Westward'' (1965) *''Contemporary Criticism'' (1970) *''The Social Context of Modern English Literature'' (1971) *''Possibilities'' (1973) *''

The History Man Bradbury's best known novel, ''The History Man'', a campus novel published in 1975, is a satire of academic life in the "glass and steel" universities, the ones established in the 1960s which followed the " redbricks". In 1981 the book was made ...

'' (1975) *''Who Do You Think You Are?'' (1976) — a collection of short stories *''All Dressed Up and Nowhere To Go'' (1982) *''The After Dinner Game'' (1982) *''Rates of Exchange'' (1983) – includes description of a performance of the imaginary opera ''Vedontakal Vrop'', also described in ''Why Come to Slaka?'' *''The Modern American Novel'' (1983) *''Why Come to Slaka?'' (1986) *'' Cuts'' (1987) *''Mensonge'' (1987) *''My Strange Quest for Mensonge: Structuralism's Hidden Hero'' (1987) *''No Not Bloomsbury'' (1987) *''Unsent Letters'' (1988) * ''The Modern World: Ten Great Writers'' (1988) *''Doctor Criminale'' (1992) *''The Modern British Novel'' (1993) *''Dangerous Pilgrimages: Trans-Atlantic Mythologies and the Novel'' (1995) *''To the Hermitage'' (2000)

References

External links

*
UEA MA in Creative WritingMalcolm Bradbury Archive, University of East AngliaLise Jaillant, "Myth Maker: Malcolm Bradbury and the Creation of Creative Writing at UEA." New Writing: The International Journal for the Practice and Theory of Creative Writing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradbury, Malcolm 1932 births 2000 deaths 20th-century English novelists Academics of the University of East Anglia Academics of the Victoria University of Manchester Academics of the University of Birmingham Academics of the University of Hull Alumni of Queen Mary University of London Alumni of University of London Worldwide Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester Alumni of the University of Leicester Burials in Norfolk Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English literary critics English satirists Knights Bachelor People from Nottingham Writers from Sheffield Postmodern writers People from South Norfolk (district) People educated at West Bridgford School

Life

Works

Selected bibliography

See also

References

External links