Stanley Middleton
FRSL (1 August 1919 – 25 July 2009) was a British
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...
.
Life
He was born in
Bulwell
Bulwell is a market town in the City of Nottingham, in Nottinghamshire, England. It is south-west of Hucknall and to the north-west of Nottingham. The United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded the population of Bulwell at 29,771 which amounted to o ...
,
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...
, in 1919 and educated at High Pavement School, Stanley Road, Nottingham, and later at
University College Nottingham
, mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom
, established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status
, type = Public
, chancellor ...
.
Middleton started writing while at university and in 1958 published ''A Short Answer''. Alongside his work as an author, he taught English at
High Pavement Grammar School for many years. In 1974, his novel ''
Holiday'' won the
Booker Prize. In 2008, ''Her Three Wise Men'' was published, his 44th novel and the last to be published during his lifetime.
Middleton was an accomplished organist, playing regularly at St Mark's Methodist Church on Ravensworth Road in Bulwell and stepping in to cover others, often at
Mansfield Road Baptist Church
Mansfield Road Baptist Church is a Baptist church in Nottingham, England, UK. It is affiliated with the Baptist Union of Great Britain.
History
Mansfield Road Baptist Church has its origins in a split within the congregation of Stoney Street ...
in Nottingham. He was also a fine watercolourist and contributed his own artwork to the covers of the 1994 novel ''
Catalysts
Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...
'' and the
festschrift
In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...
''Stanley Middleton At Eighty''.
In 2006, a reporter for ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...
'' sent the first chapters of ''Holiday'' to a number of publishers and literary agents as a journalistic stunt. Almost all rejected it.
The actor
Peter Bowles
Peter Bowles (16 October 1936 – 17 March 2022) was an English television and stage actor. He gained prominence for television dramas such as '' Callan: A Magnum for Schneider'' and ''I, Claudius''. He is however, best remembered for his roles ...
was taught by Middleton while a pupil at High Pavement. In 1980 when Bowles was the subject of the popular TV programme ''
This Is Your Life'', Middleton appeared as a guest on the programme.
Middleton was married to Margaret Welch from 1951 until his death; the couple had two daughters, Penny and Sarah. Towards the end of his life, he suffered from cancer, and died in a nursing home on 25 July 2009, one week before his 90th birthday.
It has been revealed that Middleton refused an
OBE in 1979. This came to light following a
freedom of information
Freedom of information is freedom of a person or people to publish and consume information. Access to information is the ability for an individual to seek, receive and impart information effectively. This sometimes includes "scientific, Indigeno ...
request by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. He did not feel that he should be honoured simply for doing what he regarded as his job.
Fiction
* ''A Short Answer'' (1958)
* ''Harris's Requiem'' (1960)
* ''A Serious Woman'' (1961)
* ''The Just Exchange'' (1962)
* ''Two's Company'' (1963)
* ''Him They Compelled'' (1964)
* ''Terms of Reference'' (1966)
* ''The Golden Evening'' (1968)
* ''Wages of Virtue'' (1969)
* ''Apple of the Eye'' (1970)
* ''Brazen Prison'' (1971)
* ''Cold Gradations'' (1972)
* ''A Man Made of Smoke'' (1973)
* ''
'' (1974)
* ''Distractions'' (1975)
* ''Still Waters'' (1976)
* ''Ends and Means'' (1977)
* ''Two Brothers'' (1978)
* ''In a Strange Land'' (1979)
* ''The Other Side'' (1980)
* ''Blind Understanding'' (1982)
* ''Entry into Jerusalem'' (1983)
* ''The Daysman'' (1984)
* ''Valley of Decision'' (1985)
* ''An After-Dinner's Sleep'' (1986)
* ''After a Fashion'' (1987)
* ''Recovery'' (1988)
* ''Vacant Places'' (1989)
* ''Changes and Chances'' (1990)
* ''Beginning to End'' (1991)
* ''A Place to Stand'' (1992)
* ''Married Past Redemption'' (1993)
* ''Catalysts'' (1994)
* ''Toward the Sea'' (1995)
* ''Live and Learn'' (1996)
* ''Brief Hours'' (1997)
* ''Against the Dark'' (1998)
* ''Necessary Ends'' (1999)
* ''Small Change'' (2000)
* ''Love in the Provinces'' (2002)
* ''Brief Garlands'' (2004)
* ''Sterner Stuff'' (2005)
* ''Mother's Boy'' (2006)
* ''Her Three Wise Men'' (2008)
* ''A Cautious Approach'' (2010)
Non-fiction
* ''Stanley Middleton at Eighty'' (1999). Edited by David Belbin & John Lucas, this ''festschrift'' includes short stories, essays by and about Middleton and a long interview with the author.
obituary, ''The Guardian'', 29 July 2009.
* http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/document2012-01-24-075439.pdf
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