Philip Marsden, also known as Philip Marsden-Smedley (born 11 May 1961), is an English travel writer and novelist. Born in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England, Marsden has a degree in anthropology and worked for some years for ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' magazine. He became a full-time writer in the late 1980s. He was elected as a Fellow of

The Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, elec ...

in 1996. A review of his work by Guy Mannes-Abbott appeared in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' newspaper in November 2007.Guy Mannes-Abbott

''The Independent'', 23 November 2007. He lives in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

with his wife, the writer Charlotte Hobson, and their children.

Awards and honours

* 1994:

Somerset Maugham Award 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 ...

for ''The Crossing Place'' * 1996: Elected as a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, elec ...

* 1999:

Thomas Cook Travel Book Award The Thomas Cook Travel Book Award originated as an initiative of Thomas Cook AG in 1980, with the aim of encouraging and rewarding the art of literary travel writing. The awards stopped in 2005 (2004 being the last year an award was given). As of 2 ...

for ''The Spirit-Wrestlers'' * 2013: Honorary Fellowship awarded by

Falmouth University Falmouth University ( kw, Pennskol Aberfal) is a specialist public university for the creative industries based in Falmouth and Penryn, Cornwall, England. Founded as Falmouth School of Art in 1902, it was later known as Falmouth College of Ar ...

* 2015: ''Rising Ground: A Search for the Spirit of Place'' shortlisted for

Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year The Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards celebrate the best travel writing and travel writers in the world. The awards include the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year and the Edward Stanford Award for Outstanding Contribution to Travel Writing ...

Selected publications

His books include: ;Historical and travel writing *''A Far Country: travels in Ethiopia'', Century, 1990, *''The Crossing Place: a journey among the Armenians'', HarperCollins, 1993, (

in 1994). This book is being currently translated into Spanish thanks to an Artist Residency granted by the Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada, and the Mexican National Fund for Culture and the Arts. *''The Bronski House: a return to the Borderlands'', HarperCollins, 1995, – "a story of multi-generational Polish exile involving Zofia Ilinska, friend, neighbour and poet" *''The Spirit-Wrestlers: a Russian journey'', HarperCollins, 1998 (

1999) *''The Chains of Heaven: An Ethiopian Romance'', HarperCollins, 2005, *''The Barefoot Emperor: An Ethiopian Tragedy'', HarperPress, 2007, (A life of

Tewodros II , spoken = ; ''djānhoi'', lit. ''"O steemedroyal"'' , alternative = ; ''getochu'', lit. ''"Our master"'' (pl.) Tewodros II ( gez, ዳግማዊ ቴዎድሮስ, baptized as Gebre Kidan; 1818 – 13 April 1868) was Emperor of Ethiopi ...

). *''The Levelling Sea: The Story of a Cornish Haven in the Age of Sail'', HarperPress, 2011, *''Rising Ground: A Search for the Spirit of Place'', Granta, 2014, *''The Summer Isles: A Voyage Of The Imagination'', Granta, 2019, ;Novels *''The Main Cages'', Flamingo, 2002, - set in

during the mid-1930s.Jonathan Heawood
"When Cornwall was another country: Philip Marsden paints mostly in black and white in his first novel, ''The Main Cages''"
(review), ''The Observer'' 28 July 2002. ;''Spectator'' anthologies *''Views from Abroad: the Spectator book of travel writing'', edited by Philip Marsden-Smedley and Jeffrey Klinke, London: Grafton, 1988 *''Articles of War: the Spectator book of World War II'', edited by Fiona Glass and Philip Marsden-Smedley, London: Grafton, 1989 *''Britain in the Eighties: the Spectator’s view of the Thatcher decade'' edited by Philip Marsden-Smedley, Grafton, 1989

References

External links

Official website

Philip Marsden
at United Agents {{DEFAULTSORT:Marsden, Philip English travel writers 21st-century English novelists Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature 1961 births Living people Writers from Bristol English male novelists 21st-century English male writers English male non-fiction writers