Peter Carter (13 August 1929 – 21 July 1999) was a British writer of children's books, primarily

historical novels Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

. He won several awards: the Guardian Prize, two Young Observer Prizes, and the German Preis der Leseratten. His books were shortlisted for many more prizes, and were translated into at least six languages, from Japanese to Portuguese.

Life

Carter was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, one of eight children. He left school at 14 and later took evening classes in art and philosophy, before entering

Wadham College Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

, Oxford at age 30. There he received the M.A. in English Literature in 1962. He was a school teacher from 1963 to 1976 and then a full-time writer until his death in 1999 from abdominal hæmorrhage, suffered while writing at home in

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

. Carter's first wife Lois Wilkinson died after one year, during his time at Oxford. He later married Gudrun Willege, a German photographer —or Ulrike Willige— and moved to Hamburg, Germany, in 1976. Later they divorced and remarried; he moved or visited back and forth. He married four times in all (one stepson). Carter won

Guardian Children's Fiction Prize The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award was a literary award that annual recognised one fiction book written for children or young adults (at least age eight) and published in the United Kingdom. It was conferred upon the author ...

for ''The Sentinels'', published by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

in 1981. The annual book award is judged by a panel of British children's writers and recognises the year's best book by an author who has not yet won it. Carter's ''Children of the Book'' (1982) is a historical novel about the 1683 Siege of Vienna. For ''Under Goliath'' (Oxford, 1977) he was a commended runner-up for the Carnegie Medal from the

Library Association The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, since 2017 branded CILIP: The library and information association (pronounced ), is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge management, knowle ...

, recognising the year's best children's book by a

British subject The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...

Works

All of Carter's books were published by Oxford University Press. * ''The Black Lamp'' (1973), illustrated by David Harris * ''The Gates of Paradise'' (1974), illus. Fermin Rocker * ''Madatan'' (1974), illus.

Victor Ambrus Victor Ambrus (born László Győző Ambrus, 19 August 1935 – 10 February 2021) was a Hungarian-born British illustrator of history, folk tales, and animal story books. He also became known from his appearances on the Channel 4 television ...

* ''Mao'' (1976), a biography * ''Under Goliath'' (1977) —commended for the Carnegie Medal * ''The Sentinels'' (1980) —winner of the Guardian Prize and the Premio Europeo di Letteratura Giovanile * ''Children of the Book'' (1982) —winner of the Young Observer/Rank Organisation Fiction prize and the Preis der Leseratten * ''Captain Teachum's Buried Treasure'' (1989), illus.

Korky Paul Hamish Vigne Christie "Korky" Paul (born 1951) is a British illustrator of children's books. He was born and raised in Rhodesia, but now lives in Oxford, England. His work, characteristically executed with bright watercolour paint and pen and ink ...

, who made the

Greenaway Medal The Kate Greenaway Medal is a British literary award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a children's literature, book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information ...

shortlist * ''Bury the Dead'' (1987) —winner of the Young Observer Teenage Fiction award"Children's books"
(review of ''Bury the Dead''). Sandy Macdonald. ''The New York Times''. 17 January 1988. * ''Leaving Cheyenne'' (1990); U.S. title, ''

Borderlands A borderland or borderlands are the geographical space or zone around a territorial border. Borderland or borderlands may refer to: Places * Borderland, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in Mingo County, West Virginia * Borderland (ele ...

'' * ''The Hunted'' (1993) * ''Fairy Tales from Grimm'' retold by Carter (Oxford, 1999)

Notes

References

External links

Peter Carter
at

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

Authorities – with 11 catalogue records WARNING: WorldCat conflates at least two distinct writers named Peter Carter. See the header far above. {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Peter 1929 births 1999 deaths British children's writers British historical novelists Guardian Children's Fiction Prize winners 20th-century British novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period

Life

Works

See also

Notes

References

External links