Pauline Melville

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

(born 1948) is an English/Guyanese-born writer and former actor of mixed European and

Amerindian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...

ancestry, who is currently based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England. Among awards she has received for her writing – which encompasses short stories, novels and essays – are the

Commonwealth Writers' Prize Commonwealth Foundation presented a number of prizes between 1987 and 2011. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Best ...

, the ''Guardian'' Fiction Prize, the Whitbread First Novel Award, and the

Guyana Prize for Literature Guyanese literature covers works including novels, poetry, plays and others written by people born or strongly-affiliated with Guyana. Formerly British Guiana, British language and style has an enduring impact on the writings from Guyana, which ar ...

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and Wes ...

has said: "I believe her to be one of the few genuinely original writers to emerge in recent years."

Background and early career

Melville was born in the former colony of

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

(present-day Guyana), where she spent her pre-school years in the 1940s; her mother was English, and her father Guyanese of mixed race, "part South American Indian, African and Scottish". The family moved to south London in the early 1950s, and after leaving school in the early 1960s, Melville worked at London's

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...

, which would eventually lead to her becoming a professional actor. She first appeared in films in 1967, and in 1970–74 decided to further her education by doing a course in psychology and economics at

Brunel University Brunel University London is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In June 1 ...

, then sought to combine art and politics by working with the

Joint Stock Theatre Company The Joint Stock Theatre Company was founded in London 1974 by David Hare, Max Stafford-Clark Paul Kember and David Aukin. The director William Gaskill was also part of the company. It was primarily a company which presented new plays. Joint Stock ...

and the Scottish theatre company 7:84. She also concerned herself with post-independence politics in Guyana and elsewhere in the Caribbean region, teaching literacy in

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

and working at the Jamaica School of Drama, while beginning to write short stories. As a performer, Melville was most active during the 1980s, appearing in such films as ''

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known ...

'' and ''

The Long Good Friday ''The Long Good Friday'' is a 1980 British gangster film directed by John Mackenzie from a screenplay by Barrie Keeffe, starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren. Set in London, the storyline weaves together events and concerns of the late 1970s, ...

'', along with television roles that include appearances in the sitcoms '' The Young Ones'' and '' Girls on Top''.

Writing

According to ''

Gadfly Online ''Gadfly Magazine'' was a periodical that was created in February 1997 and launched as a full-size print publication in January 1998. The publisher is the Rutherford Institute. The magazine is based in Charlottesville, Virginia. At the Utne Reader ...

'', "Much of Melville's writing is inspired by the people and events she observed while growing up in Guyana, a former British colony which didn't become independent until 1966. As a little girl and a teenager, Melville witnessed the complicated social problems of a nation locked in a desperate struggle to modernize and overcome its imperialist past. Today, an astounding number of cultures coexist in the region, in varying degrees of amicability, from European to Amerindian and African to East Indian, and the Guyanese have dealt with poverty, pollution and shortages of basic commodities, including electrical power." Melville herself said in a 2010 interview: "Being a writer is like being a window-cleaner in a house or a castle where the windows are obscured by dirt and grime. Writing is like cleaning the windows so that people can see a view of the world they have never seen before."

''Shape-Shifter'' (1990)

Her first book, the collection of short stories ''Shape-Shifter'', was published in 1990 and won several awards, including the

for Best First Book (for Western Hemisphere region and Overall Best-Full Commonwealth), the

Guardian Fiction Prize The Guardian Fiction Prize was a literary award sponsored by ''The Guardian'' newspaper. Founded in 1965, it recognized one fiction book per year written by a British or Commonwealth writer and published in the United Kingdom. The award ran for 33 ...

, and the PEN/Macmillan Silver Pen Award. A number of the stories deal with post-colonial life in the Caribbean, particularly in her native Guyana, as well as of some stories being set in London. Many of her characters, most of them displaced people from former colonies struggling to come to terms with a new life in Britain, attempt to find an identity, to reconcile their past and to escape from the restlessness hinted at in the title.

described the collection as "notably sharp, funny, original...part Caribbean magic, part London grime, written in a slippery, chameleon language that is a frequent delight". Other critical acclaim included a review in ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' of "this startling debut collection" that concluded: "Melville transforms the mundane yet never loses sight of social inequities or of the pleasures of laughter."

''The Ventriloquist's Tale'' (1997)

Melville's first novel, '' The Ventriloquist's Tale'' (1997), won the Whitbread First Novel Award, the

, and was shortlisted for the

Orange Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–12), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017)) is one of the United Kingdom's m ...

. In the book – which one reviewer characterised as "a unique look at the conflicts of ancient and modern ways" – Melville explores the nature of fiction and storytelling and writes about the impact of European colonisers on Guyanese Amerindians through the story of a brother and sister. According to ''

'': "In Melville's ambitious and richly realized debut set in modern-day Guyana, religious, social and philosophical tensions beset all the characters. ...Melville's nuanced characterizations, fluid prose, apt imagery and beautifully understated dialogue augment her skill as a raconteur. An unsentimental but moving narrative about the pain of longing, the book is mystical yet fiercely rationalist, ideological while coolly above politics ... brilliant, witty and complicated."

Jay Parini Jay Parini (born April 2, 1948) is an American writer and academic. He is known for novels, poetry, biography, screenplays and criticism. He has published novels about Leo Tolstoy, Walter Benjamin, Paul the Apostle, and Herman Melville. Early l ...

wrote in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'': "In this magnificent novel, Melville shows herself to be a discerning observer and a gifted satirist, the kind who takes no prisoners."

''The Migration of Ghosts'' (1998)

Her 1998 short-story collection, ''The Migration of Ghosts'', is a book of complex layered tales of physical and emotional displacement. According to one reviewer: "A magnificent sense of pacing is the first of Melville's skills that impresses the reader of this mesmerizing collection. The second is her gift for voices ... she has an amazing range, from West Indians in London celebrating carnival, to the self-conscious, resentful Macusi Indian brought by her literal-minded British husband to a wedding in London, to the irritable Canadian wife whose husband has been sent to Guyana for two years to serve as unofficial liar for a mining corporation. Magic realism is the label most readers and critics will paste on Melville's work ... it is an appropriate but incomplete description. The dozen stories spill over with musical chaos and sly humor.... The magic in Melville's eccentric tales is neither good nor bad, white nor black, but the magic of the teeming pluralness and the many possibilities of life."

''Eating Air'' (2009)

Melville's novel ''Eating Air'', published in 2009, was called by ''

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 ...

'' "a virtuoso performance, playing with a gallimaufry of characters".

Lavinia Greenlaw Lavinia Elaine Greenlaw (born 30 July 1962) is an English poet, novelist and non-fiction writer. She won the Prix du Premier Roman with her first novel and her poetry has been shortlisted for awards that include the T. S. Eliot Prize, Forward Pri ...

wrote in the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'': "The world of Pauline Melville’s fiction is one in which people slip in and out of place. It is full of shadows, transgressions and dark secrets. In her second novel, ''Eating Air'', it is a remarkably wide world, flitting from south London to Italy, Brazil to Surinam, across the past 30 years. ... What makes this novel compelling is the way one person leads us to the next, and how we move out of the frame only to find ourselves back at the centre. ...Melville does not need to rely on rhetoric or charm. Her clean style and detached vision allow us to concentrate on what these people actually do as opposed to what they set out to do. This is a book about the difference between intention and action – and how we are acted upon far more than we know."

''The Master of Chaos and Other Fables'' (2021)

Of her most recent book, ''The Master of Chaos and Other Fables'', Salman Rushdie was quoted as saying: "In this virtuoso performance, Pauline Melville shows us a world in upheaval, and reminds us that that's where we live."

Benjamin Zephaniah Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah (born 15 April 1958)Gregory, Andy (2002), ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa, p. 562. . is a British writer and dub poet. He was included in ''The Times'' list of Britain's top 50 post-wa ...

writing in ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' magazine praised the collection, saying: "There is love, politics, compassion, magic, and humour." Selecting "Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary Discuss Their Suicides" from the book as recommended reading, Brandon Taylor of Electric Lit stated: "How deftly Pauline Melville scummons these characters.... It's a marvel of a story about stories that asks probing questions about agency and narrative and what it means to take one's story back for oneself. All told with charm and warm intelligence."

Other literary activities and involvement

In 1992, her essay "Beyond the Pale" was included in the anthology ''

Daughters of Africa ''Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present'' is a compilation of orature and literature by more than 200 women from Africa and the African diaspora, ...

'', edited by

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's youngest and first black female book publisherJazzmine Breary"Let' ...

, as was the poem "Mixed", first published in

David Dabydeen David Dabydeen (born 9 December 1955) is a Guyanese-born broadcaster, novelist, poet and academic. He was formerly Guyana's Ambassador to UNESCO (United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organisation) from 1997 to 2010 and the youngest Memb ...

's 1998 ''Rented Rooms''. In November 2012, Melville delivered a lecture entitled "Guyanese Literature, Magic Realism and the South American Connection" in the

Edgar Mittelholzer Edgar Austin Mittelholzer (16 December 1909 – 5 May 1965) was a Guyanese novelist, the earliest novelist from the West Indian region to establish himself in Europe and gain a significant European readership.Michael Hughes, ''A Companion to Wes ...

Memorial Lecture series at the

Umana Yana The Umana Yana (pronounced ''oo-man-a yan-na'') is a conical palm thatched hut ( benab) erected for the Non-Aligned Foreign Ministers Conference in Georgetown, Guyana in August 1972 as a V.I.P. lounge and recreation centre. History The Umana Ya ...

in Georgetown. Melville was elected a Fellow of the

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

in 2018.

Awards and honours

*1990:

(Regional and Overall Winner for Best First Book) for ''Shape-Shifter'' *1990:

for ''Shape-Shifter'' *1991: PEN/Macmillan Silver Pen Award for ''Shape-Shifter'' *1997: Whitbread First Novel Award for ''The Ventriloquist's Tale'' *1998:

(shortlist) for ''The Ventriloquist's Tale'' *1998:

for ''The Ventriloquist's Tale'' *2018: Elected a Fellow of the

Bibliography

*''Shape-Shifter'', London:

Women's Press The Women's Press was a feminist publishing company established in London in 1977. Throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s, the Women's Press was a highly visible presence, publishing feminist literature. Founding In 1977, Stephanie Dowrick cofo ...

, 1990, ; Pantheon Books, 1991, *'' The Ventriloquist's Tale'', London:

Bloomsbury Publishing Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. It is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index. Bloomsbury's head office is located in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a U ...

, 1997, ; Bloomsbury USA, 1999, *; Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2000, *''Eating Air'', London: Telegram, 2009, *''The Master of Chaos and Other Fables'', Sandstone Press, 2021,

Filmography

Films

*''

Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...

'' (1967) *''

Far from the Madding Crowd ''Far from the Madding Crowd'' (1874) is Thomas Hardy's fourth novel and his first major literary success. It originally appeared anonymously as a monthly serial in ''Cornhill Magazine'', where it gained a wide readership. The novel is set in ...

'' (1967), as Mrs. Tall *''

'' (1980), as Dora *''Boom Boom, Out Go the Lights'' (1981), as herself *''

Britannia Hospital ''Britannia Hospital'' is a 1982 British black comedy film, directed by Lindsay Anderson, which targets the National Health Service and contemporary British society. It was entered into the 1982 Cannes Film Festival and Fantasporto. ''Britannia ...

'' (1982), as Clarissa *''

Scrubbers ''Scrubbers'' is a 1982 British drama film directed by Mai Zetterling and produced by Don Boyd starring Amanda York, Kathy Burke, and Chrissie Cotterill. It was shot primarily in Virginia Water, Surrey, England. It was inspired by the success ...

'' (1983), as Crow *''White City'' (1985), as Woman in dole office *''

'' (1986), as Dawn *''

How to Get Ahead in Advertising ''How to Get Ahead in Advertising'' is a 1989 British black comedy fantasy film written and directed by Bruce Robinson and starring Richard E. Grant and Rachel Ward. The title is a pun and can be literally taken as "How to Get a ''Head'' in Adve ...

'' (1989), as Mrs. Wailace *''

The House of Bernarda Alba ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' ( es, La casa de Bernarda Alba) is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with ''Blood Wedding'' and ''Yerma'' as a "rural trilogy". Garcia Lorca did not include ...

'' (1991)(TV), as Prudencia *'' Utz'' (1992), as Curator *'' Shadowlands'' (1993), as a Committee Chairwoman *''Home Away From Home'' (1994), as Neighbour *'' Brighton Rock'' (2010), as Mother Superior

Television

*'' The Young Ones'' (1982/84,

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

), as Woman on Bus (in episode "Demolition") and Vyvyan's mum (in episodes "Boring" and "Sick"), plus witch (in “Sick”) *'' Girls on Top'' (1985,

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

), playing Yvonne (three episodes) *''

Happy Families Happy Families is a traditional British card game usually with a specially made set of picture cards, featuring illustrations of fictional families of four, most often based on occupation types. The object of the game is to collect complete famil ...

'' (1985), playing a Warder *''

Blackadder's Christmas Carol ''Blackadder's Christmas Carol'', a one-off episode of ''Blackadder'', is a parody of Charles Dickens' 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol''. It is set between ''Blackadder the Third'' (1987) and ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' (1989), and is narrated b ...

'' (1988), as Mrs. Scratchit *''

The Comic Strip Presents The Comic Strip are a group of British comedians who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series ''The Comic Strip Presents...'', which was labelled as a pioneering example of the alternative comedy scene. The c ...

'' (1988), as Pauline Sneak in episode "Didn't You Kill My Brother?" *''

Alexei Sayle's Stuff ''Alexei Sayle's Stuff'' is a British television comedy sketch show which ran on BBC2 for a total of 18 episodes over 3 series from 1988 to 1991. Cast Alexei Sayle's Stuff stars stand-up comedian Alexei Sayle, with a recurring cast including An ...

'' (1988) *''

Red Dwarf ''Red Dwarf'' is a British science fiction comedy franchise created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, which primarily consists of a television sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999, and on Dave since 2009, gaining a cult following. T ...

'' (1989), as Barmaid in " Backwards" (uncredited) *''

Alas Smith and Jones ''Alas Smith and Jones'' is a British comedy sketch television series starring comedy duo and namesake Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones that originally ran for four series and two Christmas specials on BBC2 from 1984 to 1988, and later as ''Smi ...

'' (1990) (two episodes) *''

2 Point 4 Children ''2point4 Children'' is a BBC Television sitcom that was created and written by Andrew Marshall. It follows the lives of the Porters, a seemingly average, working-class London family whose world is frequently turned upside-down by bad luck and ...

'' (1992), playing Babs in episode "Hormones" *''

The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. Filming took place in various locations around the world, with "Old Indy" bookend segments filmed in Wilmington, North ...

'' (1992), as Maisie Kemp in episode "London, May 1916" *''

Desmond's ''Desmond's'' is a British television situation comedy broadcast by Channel 4 from 1989 to 1994. Conceived and co-written by Trix Worrell, and produced by Charlie Hanson and Humphrey Barclay, ''Desmond's'' stars Norman Beaton as barber Desmond ...

'' (1992), as Mrs. Martin in episode "Too Red Eye" *''

Spender ''Spender'' is a British television police procedural drama, created by Ian La Frenais and Jimmy Nail, that first broadcast on 8 January 1991 on BBC1. The series, which also starred Nail as the titular character, ran for three series between 1 ...

'' (1993), as Judge in episode "The More Things Change" *''

Ghostwriter A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

'' (1994), as Wise Rita (one episode) *''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

'' (1997), as Mrs Austin in "No Trace", Season 13, Episode 136

References

External links

*
Pauline Melville
internationales literaturfestival Berlin *
"The literary talents of Pauline Melville"
''Stabroek News'', 30 November 2010 *Boyd Tonkin

''The Independent'', 4 September 2009. *Anna Metcalfe

(interview), ''Financial Times'', 12 July 2010.
"Pauline Melville - Frank Collymore Lit. Endowment Awards XVI, Pt 1"
YouTube. {{DEFAULTSORT:Melville, Pauline 1948 births Living people 20th-century British actresses 20th-century British novelists 20th-century British short story writers 20th-century British women writers 20th-century Guyanese writers 21st-century British novelists 21st-century British short story writers 21st-century British women writers British film actresses British television actresses British women novelists British women short story writers Guyanese actresses Guyanese novelists Guyanese people of English descent Guyanese people of indigenous peoples descent Guyanese people of Scottish descent Guyanese short story writers Guyanese women novelists Magic realism writers