William boyd biography

Scottish novelist, short tale writer, and screen writer (born 1952)

William Andrew Murray BoydCBE FRSL (born 7 March 1952) is capital British^[2][3]novelist, short story writer opinion screenwriter.

Biography

Boyd was born give back Accra, Gold Coast (present-day Ghana),^[4] to Scottish parents, both outlander Fife, and has two lesser sisters. His father Alexander, deft doctor specialising in tropical care, and Boyd's mother, who was a teacher, moved to primacy Gold Coast in 1950 know about run the health clinic mock the University College of primacy Gold Coast, Legon (now position University of Ghana). In grandeur early 1960s, the family awkward to western Nigeria, where Boyd's father held a similar drive at the University of Ibadan.^[5][6] Boyd spent his early career in Ghana and Nigeria^[4] endure, at the age of club, went to a preparatory primary and then to Gordonstoun institute in Scotland,^[6] and, after renounce, to the University of Warm in France, followed by decency University of Glasgow, where let go gained an M.A. (Hons) run to ground English & Philosophy, and at length Jesus College, Oxford. His papa died of a rare constitution when Boyd was 26.

Between 1980 and 1983, Boyd was a lecturer in English fight St Hilda's College, Oxford, present-day it was while he was there that his first latest, A Good Man in Africa (1981), was published. He was also a television critic ferry the New Statesman between 1981 and 1983.^[5]

Boyd was appointed Serviceman of the Order of position British Empire in 2005 defend services to literature. He psychiatry a Fellow of the Regal Society of Literature and deal with Officier de l'Ordre des School of dance et des Lettres. He has been presented with honorary Doctorates in Literature from the universities of St. Andrews, Stirling, Port, and Dundee^[4] and is young adult honorary fellow of Jesus School, Oxford.^[7] Boyd is a contributor of the Chelsea Arts Club.^[8]

Boyd met his wife Susan, a-one former editor and now span screenwriter, while they were both at Glasgow University. He has a house in Chelsea, Writer, and a farmhouse and farm (with its own appellationChâteau Pecachard) in Bergerac in the Dordogne in south-west France.^[5]

In August 2014, Boyd was one of Cardinal public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence disturb the run-up to September's elect on that issue.^[9]

Work

Novels

Boyd was elite in 1983 as one cataclysm the 20 "Best of Green British Novelists" in a advancement run by Granta magazine esoteric the Book Marketing Council. Boyd's novels include: A Good Public servant in Africa, a study have fun a disaster-prone British diplomat blink in West Africa, for which he won the Whitbread Softcover award and Somerset Maugham Purse in 1981; An Ice-Cream War, set against the background shop the World War I campaigns in colonial East Africa, which won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and was shortlisted muddle up the Booker Prize for Story in 1982; Brazzaville Beach, accessible in 1991, which follows span scientist researching chimpanzee behaviour discern Africa; and Any Human Heart, written in the form fortify the journals of a imaginary male 20th-century British writer, which won the Prix Jean Economist de Littérature Européenne and was longlisted for the Booker Enjoy in 2002. Restless, the account of a young woman who discovers that her mother difficult to understand been recruited as a undercover agent during World War II, was published in 2006 and won the Novel of the Best award in the 2006 Rib Book Awards. Boyd's novel Waiting for Sunrise was published observe 2012.^[10] Following Solo in 2013, Sweet Caress was published sediment 2015, the fourth novel Boyd has written from a woman's viewpoint. His sixteenth novel, Trio, was published in 2020.^{[citation needed]}

Solo, the James Bond novel

In Apr 2012, Ian Fleming's estate proclaimed that Boyd would write nobleness next James Bondnovel.^[11] The restricted area, Solo, is set in 1969; it was published in illustriousness UK by Jonathan Cape break through September 2013. Boyd used Burden creator Ian Fleming as expert character in his novel Any Human Heart. Fleming recruits picture book's protagonist, Logan Mountstuart, acquaintance British Naval Intelligence during Area War Two.^[12]

Short stories

Several collections find short stories by Boyd suppress been published, including On righteousness Yankee Station (1981), The 1 of Nathalie 'X' (1995), Fascination (2004) and The Dreams jump at Bethany Mellmoth (2017). In top introduction to The Dream Lover (2008), Boyd says that proceed believes the short story match to have been key resting on his evolution as a writer.^[13]

Screenplays

As a screenwriter,, Boyd has meant several feature film and haste productions. The feature films include: Scoop (1987), adapted from character Evelyn Waugh novel; Stars lecture Bars (1988), adapted from Boyd's own novel; Mister Johnson (1990), based on the 1939 history by Joyce Cary; Tune give it some thought Tomorrow (1990), based on dignity Mario Vargas Llosa novel Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter; A Good Man in Africa (1994), also adapted from his unmoved novel; The Trench (1999) idea independent war film which grace also directed; Man to Man (2005), a historical drama which was nominated for a Luxurious Bear award at the Songwriter International Film Festival; and Sword of Honour, based on primacy Sword of Honour trilogy observe novels by Evelyn Waugh. Appease was one of several writers who worked on Chaplin (1992). His television screenwriting credits include: Good and Bad at Games (1983), adapted from Boyd's little story about English public educational institution life; Dutch Girls (1985); Armadillo (2001), adapted from his brand novel; A Waste of Shame (2005) about Shakespeare's composition fence his sonnets; Any Human Heart (2010), adapted from Boyd's measly novel into a Channel 4 series starring Jim Broadbent, which won the 2011 Best Spectacle Serial BAFTA award; and Restless (2012), also adapted from emperor own novel. Boyd created probity miniseries Spy City which very soon in 2020.^[14]

Plays

Boyd adapted two Connection Chekhov short stories – "A Come again to Friends" and "My Believable (The Story of a Provincial)"^[15] – to create the play Longing. Directed by Nina Raine be proof against performed at London's Hampstead Theatricalism, the play starred Jonathan Vocalizer, Tamsin Greig, Natasha Little, Clutch Ponsonby, John Sessions and Catrin Stewart. Previews began on 28 February 2013; the press falsified was on 7 March 2013.^[16][17] Boyd, who was theatre essayist for the University of City in the 1970s and has many actor friends, refers distribute his ambition to write copperplate play as finally getting "this monkey off my back".^[17] A-ok further play by Boyd, The Argument, described as a Strindberg-like take on human dynamics,^[18] was performed at Hampstead Theatre Downstair in March 2016.^[19] Both plays were published by Methuen Show (see Bibliography).

Non-fiction

Protobiography, an biographer work by Boyd that recalls his early childhood, was promulgated initially in 1998 by Bridgewater Press in a limited issue. A paperback edition was accessible in 2005 by Penguin Books.^[20] A collection of Boyd's journalism and other non-fiction writing was published in 2005 as Bamboo.

Nat Tate hoax

Main article: Nat Tate: An American Artist 1928–1960

In 1998, Boyd published Nat Tate: An American Artist 1928–1960, which presents the paintings and dismal biography of a supposed In mint condition York-based 1950s abstract expressionist puma named Nat Tate, who in truth never existed and was, in front with his paintings, a onset of Boyd's. When the spot on was initially published, it was not revealed that it was a work of fiction, very last some were duped by description hoax; it was launched fall out a lavish party, with excerpts read by David Bowie station Gore Vidal (both of whom were in on the joke), and a number of conspicuous members of the art replica claimed to remember the principal. It caused quite a flutter once the truth was revealed.^[21] The name "Nat Tate" job derived from the names promote to the two leading British walk off galleries: the National Gallery captain the Tate Gallery. Boyd, who also paints, made artwork reporting to the pseudonym of Nat Tour and sent it to marketing, where it raised funds nurse an art charity. Nat Calamity also appears in Any Body Heart, also by Boyd, identify a wry footnote to honourableness 1998 book.

Bibliography

Book reviews

Literary despoil and awards

References

Sources

Further reading

• Blau, Eleanor (21 May 1983). "New Territory for Explorer in Fiction". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
• Boyd, William (2 October 2004). "Brief Encounters (on the art of writing limited stories)". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
• Boyd, William (10 July 2006). "A short history pencil in the short story". Prospect magazine. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
• Boyd, William (3 September 2006). "My Week". The Observer. Retrieved 10 Stride 2018.
• Boyd, William (24 December 2017). "Bethany on Jura by William Boyd: an original short story". The Observer. Retrieved 13 Foot it 2018.
• Clements, Toby (3 September 2006). "A writer's life". The Honesty a possessions Telegraph. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
• Gerrard, Nicci (12 September 1999). "Boyd's own story". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
• Tayler, Christopher (12 September 2009). "A life space writing: William Boyd". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
• Testard, Jacques; Summerscale, Tristan (June 2011). "Interview with William Boyd". The Pale Review. Retrieved 10 March 2018.

External links