David Charles Manners (born 1965) is a British writer published in four languages. He is the co-founder of '' Sarvashubhamkara'', a charity that provides medical care, education and human contact to socially excluded individuals and communities on the Indian subcontinent, most of whom are affected by the stigma of

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

. He was awarded the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The current honour was created in 1922 to ...

in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2022 Overseas and International List:

Order of the British Empire 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 ...

, 'For services to leprosy sufferers and their children in India and Nepal'.

Background

David is of British, French, Swedish and

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

ancestry. His mother was raised in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, his father on India's North-West Frontier and in

East Punjab East Punjab (known simply as Punjab from 1950) was a province and later a state of India from 1947 until 1966, consisting of the parts of the Punjab Province of British India that went to India following the partition of the province between ...

. David was raised in a devout

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

family. Having been put through exorcisms, church 'therapy' and confinement for his sexuality, he was finally excommunicated by

church court An ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain courts having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. In the Middle Ages, these courts had much wider powers in many areas of Europe than be ...

at the age of 20. He is the 6+great grandson of

James Lee (nurseryman) Lee and Kennedy were two families of prominent Scottish nurserymen in partnership for three generations at the Vineyard Nursery in Hammersmith, west of London. Contains biographical entries concerning the Lees and Kennedys. "For many years," wrote ...

, who first introduced to British cultivation the China rose, fuchsia and dahlia; the 3+great-grandson of Dr.

Charles Thomas Pearce Charles Thomas Pearce (1815–1883) M.D., M.R.C.S., F.R.S., was an English physician and early opponent of mandatory vaccination. A member of the Royal College of Surgeons, fellow of the Royal Society and a Freemason, Charles was a homoeopath a ...

, homoeopath and surgeon, who promoted vegetarianism, improved care for the mentally ill and the cessation of vivisection; and 2+great grandson of Alfred John Pearce (1840-1923), the writer and celebrated Victorian astrologer 'Zadkiel II', an early member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. David's 2+great grandmother Helena Amelia Lindgren (1855-1931) modelled for, amongst others, James Abbott McNeill Whistler at his studio on the Chelsea riverbank in the 1870s. When Whistler‘s mother tired of posing for the portrait now known as Whistler's Mother, it was Helena who sat in Anna McNeill Whistler's place. David is also a cousin-removed to the British writer Robert Byron, Swedish writer and suffragette

Cecilia Milow Cecilia Milow (8 March 1856 – 7 May 1946), was a Swedish author, translator, educator, campaigner and suffragette. Early life and education Born in Gothenburg as Emma Cecilia Milow, but known as Cecilia ('Cissy' to her intimate circle), she wa ...

, English-Australian actor Gordon Chater, English artist Desmond Chute and Hollywood's first British freelance film journalist and photographer Margaret Chute. David keeps the family archive of both Desmond and Margaret.

Education and career

David worked as a theatre designer, primarily with

Adventures in Motion Pictures New Adventures is a British dance-theatre company. Founded by choreographer Matthew Bourne in 2001, the company developed from an earlier company Adventures in Motion Pictures, now dissolved. History Adventures in Motion Pictures (AMP) was est ...

. He was appointed Design Associate with the company in 1992. His designs included

Matthew Bourne Sir Matthew Christopher Bourne (born 13 January 1960) is an English choreographer whose work includes contemporary dance and dance theatre. Choreographer In 2007, Bourne contemplated a gay version of ''Romeo and Juliet''. Despite the succ ...

's ''Infernal Galop'' (1989; revived 1992), ''Deadly Serious'' (1992), ''The Percys of Fitzrovia'' (1992) and ''Drip: a Narcissistic Love Story'' (BBC's ''Dance for the Camera'', 1993). 2012 saw ''Infernal Galop'' revived by Bourne's New Adventures, as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of the founding of his companies. He also designed the first Italian translation of Bernstein's ''Candide'' for

Graham Vick Sir Graham Vick (30 December 1953 – 17 July 2021) was an English opera director known for his experimental and revisionist stagings of traditional and modern operas. He worked in many of the world's leading opera houses and was artistic d ...

at Batignano, Tuscany. David designed and/or made costumes for performance artist

Rose English Rose English is a British artist working in performance, installation, theatre, dance and film. She has been writing, directing and performing her own work for over thirty five years in venues as various as Tate Britain; Royal Court Theatre; Qu ...

, dance company Moving Mountains, theatre company 20th-Century Vixen and Glyndebourne Festival Opera. Awarded a BA Music (Sound & Image) degree from

Newton Park Newton Park is an 18th-century Grade I listed country house in the parish of Newton St Loe, Somerset, England, situated west of Bath. History Newton Park was built in 1762–5 by Joseph Langton (grandson of Joseph Langton (c.1637–1719), of ...

College,

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, he went on to train in Physical Medicine and subsequently worked for thirteen years as Physical Therapist with musicians, conductors and singers at Glyndebourne Festival Opera. He is a contributor to various journals including the National Geographic Traveller magazine. David writes in French and was commissioned to provide an article for the publication ''Memoire d'Opale'' in 2018. ''Le cœur si doux et si tendre - Lettres d’amour interdites à Montreuil-sur-Mer'' describes the set of secret love letters he discovered at the back of a family diary dating from the Franco-Prussian War. His first book, ''In the Shadow of Crows'', was published in 2009 by

Reportage Press Reportage Press was a publishing house specialising in "books on foreign affairs or set in foreign countries, or just books written from a stranger's view." In reaction to the lack of quality books on foreign affairs, Reportage Press was establi ...

,"In the Shadow of Crows"=2009, Reportage Press A second edition, published by Signal Books, was released in August 2011. David spent 2011 in collaboration with Jerwood Award-winning choreographer and director Ben Wright, creating text to inspire a new work for the dance company bgroup, which was taken on a national tour in the UK. His second book, ''Limitless Sky'', was released by Rider (imprint), a

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

division, in June 2014. It has subsequently been published in translation, in both Lithuanian and Turkish. Lithuania's television channel tv3 recommended ''Limitless Sky'' in its 20 Best Books for the Summer in 2015. The book is referenced by the

OED The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

for the use of the term ''faggot''. In 2015, David was interviewed for inclusion in the schools handbook ''How to Create Kind Schools'' by Jenny Hulme (published by

Jessica Kingsley Jessica may refer to: Given name * Jessica (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters with this name * Jessica Folcker, a Swedish singer known by the mononym Jessica * Jessica Jung, a Korean-American singer known by the m ...

), to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the national anti-bullying charity

Kidscape Kidscape is a London-based charity established in 1985, by child psychologist Michele Elliott. Its focus is on children's safety, with an emphasis on the prevention of harm by equipping children with techniques and mindsets that help them stay ...

. David's play ′′Picture Perfect′′ is based on the life of his relation Margaret Chute, Hollywood's first freelance film journalist and photographer. ′Picture Perfect′ opened in July 2021 at the Stables Theatre,

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

, starring

Liza Sadovy Liza Sadovy is a British actress. She is best known for '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' (2007), ''Prime Suspect 3'' (1993) and ''Company'' (1996). Other television work includes ''Extras'' with Ricky Gervais, '' Midsomer Murders ...

directed by Tony Graham. David was commissioned to write for The Stables Theatre,

. ''Here at Last is Love'' is based on personal interviews and unpublished letters written by members of the Pink Sink set – a group of gay army officers and M.I.5 agents, who met at the lower bar at London's Ritz Hotel during the Blitz. These men included Terence Rattigan, Desmond Carrington,

Paul Dehn Paul Edward Dehn (pronounced "Dain"; 5 November 1912 – 30 September 1976) was a British screenwriter, best known for '' Goldfinger'', '' The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'', ''Planet of the Apes'' sequels and ''Murder on the Orient Express''. ...

Dunstan Thompson Dunstan Thompson (1918–1975) was an American poet who lived in Britain. A Catholic, he wrote openly about gay and wartime experiences. Life and career Thompson was born in New London, Connecticut, and educated at Harvard University.Gioia, D ...

and

Michael Pitt-Rivers Major Michael Augustus Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers (27 May 1917 – December 1999) was a West Country landowner who gained notoriety in Britain in the 1950s when he was put on trial charged with buggery. This trial was instrumental in bringing publ ...

, all of whom gathered around a socially-ostracised, single mother affectionately known as Sodomy Johnson, 'the Buggers' Vera Lynn'. ''Here at Last is Love'' opened in May 2022, directed by Jason Morell.

References

Bibliography

* David Charles Manners, ''In the Shadow of Crows'': Reportage Press, London, 2009. ; * David Charles Manners, ''In the Shadow of Crows'': Signal Books, Oxford, 2011. * David Charles Manners, ''Limitless Sky'': Rider Books/Random House, London, 2014. * David Charles Manners, ''Himalaya Şamanı'': Kuraldışı Yayınevi, Istanbul, 2014. * David Charles Manners, ''Beribis Dangus'' : Vaga, Vilnius, 2014.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manners, David Charles 1965 births Living people People from Epsom People from Lichfield People from Eastbourne British writers British gay writers LGBT writers from England People excommunicated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Recipients of the British Empire Medal 21st-century LGBT people