''The Albatross'' is a

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

written by

Susan Hill Dame Susan Hill, Lady Wells, (born 5 February 1942) is an English author of fiction and non-fiction works. Her novels include ''The Woman in Black'', '' The Mist in the Mirror'', and ''I'm the King of the Castle'', for which she received th ...

, first appearing in the collection ''The Albatross and Other Stories'' published by

Hamish Hamilton Hamish Hamilton Limited was a British book publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half-Scot half-American Jamie Hamilton (''Hamish'' is the vocative form of the Gaelic Seumas eaning James ''James'' the English form – which was ...

in 1971. It won the

John Llewellyn Rhys Prize The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize was a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama) by an author from the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and publis ...

in 1972. It appeared as a standalone book published by

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

English as an example of the best of modern women's writing.

Plot introduction

''The Albatross'' centers around Duncan, an intellectually disabled 18-year-old who has grown up with his domineering wheelchair-using mother in Heype, a

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

seaside town based on

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the English county, county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the int ...

.Author's afterword in the 2000 Penguin edition of the book Duncan finds it difficult to cope with anything outside his daily routine but is forced to interact with the wider world when his claustrophobic relationship with his mother reaches a breaking point.

Inspiration

The story was partly inspired by local composer

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

's opera ''

Peter Grimes ''Peter Grimes'', Op. 33, is an opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto by Montagu Slater based on the section "Peter Grimes", in George Crabbe's long narrative poem '' The Borough''. The "borough" of the opera is a fictional ...

''.

Publication history

*1971, UK, Hamish Hamilton, , Pub date 11 Feb 1971, Hardback *1973, UK, Penguin, , Pub date 25 Oct 1973, Paperback *1975, US, E.P. Dutton, , Hardback *1978, UK, Hamish Hamilton, , Pub date Dec 1978, Hardback *1994, UK, Soundings, , Audio cassette, Read by Patricia Gallimore *1995, UK, Isis, , Pub date Jun 1995, Large print *2000, UK, Penguin, , Pub date 30 Nov 2000, Paperback www.fantasticfiction.co.uk
Retrieved 2012-11-18.

References

External links

review of collection
from '' Saturday Review'' Pub Date: Aug. 18th, 1975

Plot introduction

Inspiration

Publication history

References

External links

See also