''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, 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 in 2000. It is studied in

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.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's opera '' Peter Grimes''.

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 Pat Archer (also Lewis) is a fictional character from the British BBC Radio 4 soap opera, ''The Archers''. The character was introduced in 1974 by producer Tony Shryane as the love interest of Tony Archer, who she would later marry. Radio actres ...

*1995, UK, Isis, , Pub date Jun 1995, Large print *2000, UK, Penguin, , Pub date 30 Nov 2000, Paperbackwww.fantasticfiction.co.uk
Retrieved 2012-11-18.

References

External links

Review of collection
from '' Saturday Review'', published on 18 August 1975 {{DEFAULTSORT:Albatross, The 1971 British novels British novellas Novels by Susan Hill John Llewellyn Rhys Prize-winning works Novels set in Suffolk Social realism Hamish Hamilton books Penguin Books books Aldeburgh

Plot introduction

Inspiration

Publication history

See also

References

External links