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Percy Howard Newby
CBE
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 o ...
(25 June 1918 – 6 September 1997) was an English
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...
and broadcasting administrator. He was the first winner of the
Booker Prize, his novel ''
Something to Answer For
''Something to Answer For'' is a 1968 novel by the English writer P. H. Newby. Its chief claim to fame is that in 1969 it won the inaugural Booker Prize, which would go on to become one of the major literary awards in the English-speaking world.
...
'' having received the inaugural award in 1969.
Early life
P.H. Newby, known as Howard Newby, was born in Crowborough, Sussex on 25 June 1918 and was educated at
Hanley Castle Grammar School in
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...
, and
St Paul's College of Education in
Cheltenham. In October 1939 he was sent to France to serve in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
as a private in the
Royal Army Medical Corps. His unit was one of the last to be evacuated. Afterwards he was sent to the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
and served in the
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
ian desert.
Career
Newby was released from military service in December 1942, and then taught
English Literature at
King Fouad University in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
until 1946. One of his students was the Egyptian editor
Mursi Saad El-Din.
From 1949 to 1978 he was employed by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, beginning as a radio producer and going on to become successively Controller of the Third Programme and
Radio Three, Director of Programmes (Radio), and finally managing director, BBC Radio. While at Radio 3, Newby is credited with increasing the amount of Classical music on the station without the need for controversial changes to schedules.
His first novel, ''A Journey into the Interior'', was published in 1946. He then returned to England to write. In the same year he was given an Atlantic Award in literature, and two years thence he received the
Somerset Maugham Prize
The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each year by the Society of Authors. Set up by William Somerset Maugham in 1947 the awards enable young writers to enrich their work by gaining experience in foreign countries. The awa ...
. In 1947, John Lehmann published Newby's boys' adventure story "The Spirit of Jem" with 41 line drawings and a colour dust wrap by
Keith Vaughan
John Keith Vaughan (23 August 1912 – 4 November 1977), was a British painter.
Biography
Born at Selsey in West Sussex, Vaughan attended Christ's Hospital school. He worked in an advertising agency until the World War II, when as an intending ...
.
He was appointed a
CBE
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 o ...
for his work as managing director of
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...
.
In his obituary author, friend and colleague
Anthony Thwaite states: "P. H. Newby was one of the best English novelists of the second half of the century."
Novels
* ''A Journey to the Interior'' (1945)
* ''The Spirit of Jem'' (1947)
* ''Agents and Witnesses'' (1947)
* ''Mariner Dances'' (1948)
* ''The Loot Runners'' (1949)
* ''The Snow Pasture'' (1949)
* ''The Young May Moon'' (1950)
* ''A Season in England'' (1951)
* ''A Step to Silence'' (1952)
* ''The Retreat'' (1953)
* ''
Picnic at Sakkara'' (1955)
* ''Revolution and Roses'' (1957)
* ''Ten Miles From Anywhere'' (1958)
* ''A Guest and His Going'' (1960)
* ''The Barbary Light'' (1962)
* ''One of the Founders'' (1965)
* ''
Something to Answer For
''Something to Answer For'' is a 1968 novel by the English writer P. H. Newby. Its chief claim to fame is that in 1969 it won the inaugural Booker Prize, which would go on to become one of the major literary awards in the English-speaking world.
...
'' (1968)
* ''A Lot to Ask'' (1973)
* ''Kith'' (1977)
* ''Feelings Have Changed'' (1981)
* ''Leaning in the Wind'' (1986)
* ''Coming in with the Tide'' (1991)
* ''Something About Women'' (1995)
Nonfiction
* ''Maria Edgeworth'' (1950)
* ''The Novel, 1945-1950'' (1951)
* ''The Uses of Broadcasting'' (1978)
* ''The Egypt Story'' (1979)
* ''Warrior Pharaohs'' (1980)
* ''Saladin in His Time'' (1983)
References
External links
Information site for P.H. Newby
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newby, P. H.
1918 births
1997 deaths
20th-century English novelists
Newby, Howard
Booker Prize winners
British Army personnel of World War II
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
People educated at Hanley Castle High School
Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers