Angela Carter
Encyclopedia
Angela Carter was an English novelist and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picaresque works. In 2008, The Times
ranked Carter tenth, in their list of "The 50 greatest British writers
since 1945".
, in 1940, Carter was evacuated as a child to live in Yorkshire with her maternal grandmother. As a teenager she battled anorexia
. She began work as a journalist on the Croydon Advertiser
, following in the footsteps of her father. Carter attended the University of Bristol
where she studied English literature.
She married twice, first in 1960 to Paul Carter. They divorced after twelve years. In 1969 Angela Carter used the proceeds of her Somerset Maugham Award
to leave her husband and relocate for two years to Tokyo, Japan, where she claims in Nothing Sacred (1982) that she "learnt what it is to be a woman and became radicalised." She wrote about her experiences there in articles for New Society and a collection of short stories, Fireworks: Nine Profane Pieces
(1974), and evidence of her experiences in Japan can also be seen in The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman
(1972). She then explored the United States, Asia and Europe, helped by her fluency in French and German. She spent much of the late 1970s and 1980s as a writer in residence at universities, including the University of Sheffield
, Brown University
, the University of Adelaide
, and the University of East Anglia
. In 1977 Carter married Mark Pearce, with whom she had one son.
As well as being a prolific writer of fiction, Carter contributed many articles to The Guardian
, The Independent
and New Statesman
, collected in Shaking a Leg. She adapted a number of her short stories for radio and wrote two original radio dramas on Richard Dadd
and Ronald Firbank
. Two of her fictions have been adapted for the silver screen: The Company of Wolves
(1984) and The Magic Toyshop
(1987). She was actively involved in both film adaptations, her screenplays are published in the collected dramatic writings, The Curious Room
, together with her radio scripts, a libretto for an opera of Virginia Woolf
's Orlando, an unproduced screenplay entitled The Christchurch Murders (based on the same true story as Peter Jackson's
Heavenly Creatures
) and other works. These neglected works, as well as her controversial television documentary, The Holy Family Album
, are discussed in Charlotte Crofts' book, Anagrams of Desire
(2003). Her novel Nights at the Circus won the 1984 James Tait Black Memorial Prize
for literature.
At the time of her death, Carter had started work on a sequel to Charlotte Brontë
's Jane Eyre
based on the later life of Jane's stepdaughter, Adèle Varens; only a synopsis survives.
Angela Carter died aged 51 in 1992 at her home in London after developing lung cancer
.
She wrote two entries in "A Hundred Things Japanese" copyright 1975 by the Japan Culture Institute. ISBN 0870403648 It says "She has lived in Japan both from 1969 to 1971 and also during 1974" (p 202).
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
ranked Carter tenth, in their list of "The 50 greatest British writers
British literature
British Literature refers to literature associated with the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Channel Islands. By far the largest part of British literature is written in the English language, but there are bodies of written works in Latin, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Cornish, Manx, Jèrriais,...
since 1945".
Biography
Born Angela Olive Stalker in EastbourneEastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
, in 1940, Carter was evacuated as a child to live in Yorkshire with her maternal grandmother. As a teenager she battled anorexia
Anorexia (symptom)
Anorexia is the decreased sensation of appetite...
. She began work as a journalist on the Croydon Advertiser
Croydon Advertiser
The Croydon Advertiser is a weekly newspaper covering the London Borough of Croydon, South London, and surrounding areas. It is the third-highest selling paid-for weekly paper in London...
, following in the footsteps of her father. Carter attended the University of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
where she studied English literature.
She married twice, first in 1960 to Paul Carter. They divorced after twelve years. In 1969 Angela Carter used the proceeds of her Somerset Maugham Award
Somerset Maugham Award
The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each May by the Society of Authors. It is awarded to whom they judge to be the best writer or writers under the age of thirty-five of a book published in the past year. The prize was instituted in 1947 by William Somerset Maugham and thus...
to leave her husband and relocate for two years to Tokyo, Japan, where she claims in Nothing Sacred (1982) that she "learnt what it is to be a woman and became radicalised." She wrote about her experiences there in articles for New Society and a collection of short stories, Fireworks: Nine Profane Pieces
Fireworks: Nine Profane Pieces
Fireworks: Nine Profane Pieces is an anthology of short fiction by Angela Carter. It was first published in the United Kingdom in 1974 by Quartet Books Ltd. and contains a collection of stories, several of which are based on Carter's own experiences of living in Japan from 1969 to 1971...
(1974), and evidence of her experiences in Japan can also be seen in The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman
The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman
The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman, published in the United States as The War of Dreams, is a 1972 novel by Angela Carter. This picaresque novel is heavily influenced by surrealism, Romanticism, critical theory, and other branches of Continental philosophy. Its style is an amalgam of...
(1972). She then explored the United States, Asia and Europe, helped by her fluency in French and German. She spent much of the late 1970s and 1980s as a writer in residence at universities, including the University of Sheffield
University of Sheffield
The University of Sheffield is a research university based in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original 'red brick' universities and is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities...
, Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
, and the University of East Anglia
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
. In 1977 Carter married Mark Pearce, with whom she had one son.
As well as being a prolific writer of fiction, Carter contributed many articles to The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
and New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
, collected in Shaking a Leg. She adapted a number of her short stories for radio and wrote two original radio dramas on Richard Dadd
Richard Dadd
Richard Dadd was an English painter of the Victorian era, noted for his depictions of fairies and other supernatural subjects, Orientalist scenes, and enigmatic genre scenes, rendered with obsessively minuscule detail...
and Ronald Firbank
Ronald Firbank
Arthur Annesley Ronald Firbank was a British novelist.-Biography:Ronald Firbank was born in London, the son of society lady Harriet Jane Garrett and MP Sir Thomas Firbank. He went to Uppingham School, and then on to Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He converted to Catholicism in 1907...
. Two of her fictions have been adapted for the silver screen: The Company of Wolves
The Company of Wolves
The Company of Wolves is a 1984 gothic fantasy-horror film directed by Neil Jordan, and starring Sarah Patterson and Angela Lansbury.The film is based on the werewolf story of the same name in Angela Carter's short story collection The Bloody Chamber...
(1984) and The Magic Toyshop
The Magic Toyshop
The Magic Toyshop is a British novel by Angela Carter. It follows the development of the heroine, Melanie, as she becomes aware of herself, her environment, and her own sexuality.- Plot Summary :...
(1987). She was actively involved in both film adaptations, her screenplays are published in the collected dramatic writings, The Curious Room
The Curious Room
The mysterious Chiken Buckt is a book collecting various plays and scripts by Angela Carter. Its full title is The Curious Room: Plays, Film Scripts and an Opera....
, together with her radio scripts, a libretto for an opera of Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
's Orlando, an unproduced screenplay entitled The Christchurch Murders (based on the same true story as Peter Jackson's
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
Heavenly Creatures
Heavenly Creatures
Heavenly Creatures is a 1994 film directed by Peter Jackson, from a screenplay he co-wrote with his wife Fran Walsh, about the notorious 1954 Parker-Hulme murder case in Christchurch, New Zealand. Filmed on location in Christchurch, it features Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet in their screen debuts...
) and other works. These neglected works, as well as her controversial television documentary, The Holy Family Album
The Holy Family Album
The Holy Family Album is a television documentary written and narrated by Angela Carter. It was directed by JoAnn Kaplan and produced by John Ellis at Large Door Productions, London, UK...
, are discussed in Charlotte Crofts' book, Anagrams of Desire
Anagrams of Desire
Anagrams of Desire is an academic text book about Angela Carter's media writings. Written by Charlotte Crofts and published by Manchester University Press in 2003, the full title is Anagrams of Desire: Angela Carter's Writing for Radio, Film and Television.The book examines Carter's five radio...
(2003). Her novel Nights at the Circus won the 1984 James Tait Black Memorial Prize
James Tait Black Memorial Prize
Founded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English language and are Britain's oldest literary awards...
for literature.
At the time of her death, Carter had started work on a sequel to Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood, whose novels are English literature standards...
's Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published in London, England, in 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. with the title Jane Eyre. An Autobiography under the pen name "Currer Bell." The first American edition was released the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York...
based on the later life of Jane's stepdaughter, Adèle Varens; only a synopsis survives.
Angela Carter died aged 51 in 1992 at her home in London after developing lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
.
Novels
- Shadow DanceShadow Dance (novel)Shadow Dance was Angela Carter's first novel, published in England by Heinemann in 1966. It was published under the name Honeybuzzard in the United States . Upon publication it was acclaimed by Anthony Burgess, who wrote that he "read this book with admiration, horror and other relevant emotions......
(1966) aka Honeybuzzard - The Magic ToyshopThe Magic ToyshopThe Magic Toyshop is a British novel by Angela Carter. It follows the development of the heroine, Melanie, as she becomes aware of herself, her environment, and her own sexuality.- Plot Summary :...
(1967) - Several PerceptionsSeveral PerceptionsSeveral Perceptions is a 1968 novel by the author Angela Carter....
(1968) - Heroes and VillainsHeroes and Villains (novel)Heroes and Villains is a 1969 post-apocalyptic novel by Angela Carter.-Reception:Writing for The New York Times, Richard Boston found Heroes and Villains to be "a strange, compelling book. . ....
(1969) - Love (1971)
- The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor HoffmanThe Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor HoffmanThe Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman, published in the United States as The War of Dreams, is a 1972 novel by Angela Carter. This picaresque novel is heavily influenced by surrealism, Romanticism, critical theory, and other branches of Continental philosophy. Its style is an amalgam of...
(1972) aka The War of Dreams - The Passion of New EveThe Passion of New EveThe Passion of New Eve is a novel by Angela Carter, first published in 1977. The book is set in a dystopian United States where civil war has broken out between different political, racial and gendered groups. A dark satire, the book parodies primitive notions of gender, sexual difference and...
(1977) - Nights at the CircusNights at the CircusNights at the Circus is a novel by Angela Carter, first published in 1984 and that year's winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction. The novel focuses on the life and exploits of Fevvers, a woman who is – or so she would have people believe – a Cockney virgin, hatched from an egg...
(1984) - Wise ChildrenWise ChildrenWise Children was the last novel written by Angela Carter. The novel follows the fortunes of twin chorus girls, Dora and Nora Chance, and their bizarre theatrical family. It explores the subversive nature of fatherhood, the denying of which leads Nora and Dora to frivolous "illegitimate" lechery...
(1991)
Short fiction
- Fireworks: Nine Profane PiecesFireworks: Nine Profane PiecesFireworks: Nine Profane Pieces is an anthology of short fiction by Angela Carter. It was first published in the United Kingdom in 1974 by Quartet Books Ltd. and contains a collection of stories, several of which are based on Carter's own experiences of living in Japan from 1969 to 1971...
(1974) aka Fireworks: Nine Stories in Various Disguises and Fireworks - The Bloody ChamberThe Bloody ChamberThe Bloody Chamber is a collection of short fiction by Angela Carter. It was first published in the United Kingdom in 1979 by Gollancz and won the Cheltenham Festival Literary Prize. All of the stories share a common theme of being closely based upon fairytales or folk tales...
(1979) - The BridegroomThe BridegroomThe Bridegroom is a short piece of fiction by Angela Carter. It does not appear in the volume of Carter's collected short fictions Burning Your Boats: The Collected Short Stories. It can be found in the anthology Lands of Never . and the periodical "Bananas"-References:...
(1983) (Uncollected short story) - Black Venus (1985)
- American Ghosts and Old World WondersAmerican Ghosts and Old World WondersAmerican Ghosts and Old World Wonders is a posthumously published anthology of short fiction by Angela Carter. It was first published in the United Kingdom in 1993 by Chatto & Windus Ltd. and contains a collection of nine stories, one half of which deal with American folklore and the other with...
(1993) - Burning Your BoatsBurning Your BoatsBurning Your Boats: The Collected Short Stories is a posthumously-published collection of Angela Carter's short stories. It includes stories previously collected in her other short story collections: Fireworks: Nine Profane Pieces , The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories , Black Venus and American...
(1995)
Dramatic works
- Come Unto These Yellow Sands: Four Radio Plays (1985)
- The Curious Room: Plays, Film Scripts and an OperaThe Curious RoomThe mysterious Chiken Buckt is a book collecting various plays and scripts by Angela Carter. Its full title is The Curious Room: Plays, Film Scripts and an Opera....
(1996) (includes Carter's screenplays for adaptations of The Company of WolvesThe Company of WolvesThe Company of Wolves is a 1984 gothic fantasy-horror film directed by Neil Jordan, and starring Sarah Patterson and Angela Lansbury.The film is based on the werewolf story of the same name in Angela Carter's short story collection The Bloody Chamber...
and The Magic ToyshopThe Magic ToyshopThe Magic Toyshop is a British novel by Angela Carter. It follows the development of the heroine, Melanie, as she becomes aware of herself, her environment, and her own sexuality.- Plot Summary :...
; also includes the contents of Come Unto These Golden Sands: Four Radio Plays) - The Holy Family AlbumThe Holy Family AlbumThe Holy Family Album is a television documentary written and narrated by Angela Carter. It was directed by JoAnn Kaplan and produced by John Ellis at Large Door Productions, London, UK...
(1991)
Children's books
- The Donkey PrinceThe Donkey Prince"The Donkey Prince" is a short children's story written by Angela Carter and illustrated by Eros Kieth , it was first published in the USA by Simon and Schuster in 1970...
(1970) illustrated by Eros Keith - Miss Z, the Dark Young Lady (1970) illustrated by Eros Keith
- Comic and Curious CatsComic and Curious CatsComic and Curious Cats is a children's book with text by Angela Carter and illustrations by Martin Leman...
(1979) illustrated by Martin Leman - Moonshadow (1982) illustrated by Justin Todd
- Sea-Cat and Dragon King (2000) illustrated by Eva Tatcheva
Non-fiction
- The Sadeian Woman and the Ideology of PornographyThe Sadeian Woman and the Ideology of PornographyThe Sadeian Woman and the Ideology of Pornography is a 1978 non-fiction book by Angela Carter. Given that many feminists, notably Andrea Dworkin, truly loathe de Sade, a feminist re-appraisal of his work might seem a strange thing; but that's just what this book is...
(1979) - Nothing Sacred: Selected Writings (1982)
- Expletives Deleted: Selected Writings (1992)
- Shaking a Leg: Collected Journalism and Writing (1997)
She wrote two entries in "A Hundred Things Japanese" copyright 1975 by the Japan Culture Institute. ISBN 0870403648 It says "She has lived in Japan both from 1969 to 1971 and also during 1974" (p 202).
Works as editor
- Wayward Girls and Wicked Women: An Anthology of Subversive Stories (1986)
- The Virago Book of Fairy Tales (1990) aka The Old Wives' Fairy Tale Book
- The Second Virago Book of Fairy Tales (1992) aka Strange Things Still Sometimes Happen: Fairy Tales From Around the World (1993)
- Angela Carter's Book of Fairy Tales (2005) (collects the two Virago Books above)
Works as translator
- The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault (1977)
- Sleeping Beauty and Other Favourite Fairy Tales (1982) (Perrault stories and two Madame Leprince de Beaumont stories)
Film adaptations
- Company of Wolves (1984) adapted by Carter with Neil JordanNeil JordanNeil Patrick Jordan is an Irish filmmaker and novelist. He won an Academy Award for The Crying Game.- Early life :...
from her short story of the same name, "Wolf-Alice" and "The Werewolf" - The Magic Toyshop (1987) adapted by Carter from her novelThe Magic ToyshopThe Magic Toyshop is a British novel by Angela Carter. It follows the development of the heroine, Melanie, as she becomes aware of herself, her environment, and her own sexuality.- Plot Summary :...
of the same name
Radio plays
- Vampirella (1976) written by Carter and directed by Glyn Dearman for BBC. Formed the basis for the short story "The Lady of the House of Love".
- Come Unto These Yellow Sands (1979)
- The Company of Wolves (1980) adapted by Carter from her short story of the same name, "Wolf-Alice" and "The Werewolf", and directed by Glyn Dearman for BBC
- Puss-in-Boots (1982) adapted by Carter from her short story and directed by Glyn Dearman for BBC
- A Self-Made Man (1984)
Works on Angela Carter
- Milne, Andrew (2006), The Bloody Chamber d'Angela Carter, Paris: Editions Le Manuscrit, Université
- Milne, Andrew (2007), Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber: A Reader's Guide, Paris: Editions Le Manuscrit Université
- Dimovitz, Scott A., 'I Was the Subject of the Sentence Written on the Mirror: Angela Carter's Short Fiction and the Unwriting of the Psychoanalytic Subject.' Lit: Literature Interpretation Theory 21.1 (2010): 1-19.
- Dimovitz, Scott A., 'Angela Carter’s Narrative Chiasmus: The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman and The Passion of New Eve.' Genre XVII (2009): 83-111.
- Dimovitz, Scott A., 'Cartesian Nuts: Rewriting the Platonic Androgyne in Angela Carter’s Japanese Surrealism'. FEMSPEC: An Interdisciplinary Feminist Journal, 6:2 (December 2005): 15–31.
- Kérchy, Anna (2008), Body-Texts in the Novels of Angela Carter. Writing from a Corporeagraphic Perspective. Lampeter: The Edwin Mellen Press
- Topping, Angela (2009), Focus on The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories London: The Greenwich Exchange
External links
- BBC interview (Video, 25 June 1991, 25 mins)
- Angela Carter biography and selected bibliography
- Angela Carter Timeline. The Guardian.
- "Angela Carter remembered" Daily Telegraph 03 May 2010
- A Conversation with Angela Carter by Anna Katsavos
- Angela Carter in conversation about her life and work, 1988, British Library
- Essay on ColetteColetteColette was the surname of the French novelist and performer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette . She is best known for her novel Gigi, upon which Lerner and Loewe based the stage and film musical comedies of the same title.-Early life and marriage:Colette was born to retired military officer Jules-Joseph...
Vol. 2 No. 19 · 2 October 1980 London Review of Books by Angela Carter.