Clive King
Encyclopedia
David Clive King is an English author best known for his children's book Stig of the Dump
(1962). He served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve in the last years of World War II and then worked for the British Council
in a wide range of overseas postings, from which he later drew inspiration for his novels.
. He was educated at The King's School, Rochester
, Kent 1933–41 and then Downing College, Cambridge
, where he obtained a B.A. in English. He served as a Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve 1943–46, which took him to the Arctic
, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Malaysia and Japan, where he saw the then recent devastation of Hiroshima
.
After the war, he began working as an Officer of the British Council
and was posted to Amsterdam
as an Administrative Officer (1948–50). Subsequent postings for the British Council included: Belfast
as a Student Welfare Officer (1950–51); Aleppo
, Syria as a Lecturer (1951–54); Damascus
as a Visiting Professor to the University (1954–55); Beirut
as Lecturer and Director of Studies (1960–66); Madras as an Education Officer (1971–73). He also served as a Warden for East Sussex Country Council from 1955–60. He attended the London School of Oriental and African Studies
from 1966–7, then served as an Education Advisor for the East Pakistan Education Centre in Dhaka
from 1967–71.
Clive King started writing as a child, stating that his first story was a script for a western film written in 1930. He had articles published in both his school and college magazines before his first book, Hamid of Aleppo, was published by Macmillan & Co, NY
in 1958. He wrote three more novels for children, The Town That went South (1959), Stig of the Dump
(1962) and The 22 Letters (1966) before deciding to become a full-time writer in 1973.
He went on to write twelve further novels between 1973 and 1995 but it is for Stig of the Dump, which was twice adapted for television and continues to be taught in British schools, for which he is best known.
Clive King has been married twice, has three children and lives in Norfolk
.
Clive King's best-known novel is Stig of the Dump
(1963), illustrated by Edward Ardizzone
, which follows the adventures of a boy who discovers a Stone-Age cave-dweller living at the bottom of a disused chalk pit (which has been used as an unofficial rubbish dump) in Kent
. The concept is unusual in that it does not involve any of the common fantasy devices such as time-slip or magic. The book has reprinted many times and has been adapted for television.
.
Set in the eastern Mediterranean world of the 15th century BC, the story follows the adventures of the three sons of a Phoenicia
n master builder through three loosely linked stories in which they travel to Egypt (Sinai), to the court of King Minos (Crete
) and north to Ugarit
. They return and save the city from invasion with the help of the three inventions they find or discover: celestial navigation
, horsemanship and alphabet
ic writing. In its time, The 22 Letters was considered, at over 300 pages, to be very long for a children's book although the scholarship and scope was admired.
Stig of the Dump
Stig of the Dump is a children's novel by Clive King published in 1963. It is regarded as a modern children's classic and is often read in schools. It has been twice adapted for television, in 1981 and in 2002.-Plot summary:...
(1962). He served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve in the last years of World War II and then worked for the British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
in a wide range of overseas postings, from which he later drew inspiration for his novels.
Background
Clive King was born in Richmond, London, England in April 1924 and grew up in Ash, KentKent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. He was educated at The King's School, Rochester
The King's School, Rochester
The King's School, Rochester is an independent school in Rochester, Kent. It is a cathedral school, and being part of the foundation of Rochester Cathedral, the Dean of Rochester Cathedral serves as the chair of the school's governing body...
, Kent 1933–41 and then Downing College, Cambridge
Downing College, Cambridge
Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1800 and currently has around 650 students.- History :...
, where he obtained a B.A. in English. He served as a Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve 1943–46, which took him to the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Malaysia and Japan, where he saw the then recent devastation of Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
.
After the war, he began working as an Officer of the British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
and was posted to Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
as an Administrative Officer (1948–50). Subsequent postings for the British Council included: Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
as a Student Welfare Officer (1950–51); Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
, Syria as a Lecturer (1951–54); Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
as a Visiting Professor to the University (1954–55); Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
as Lecturer and Director of Studies (1960–66); Madras as an Education Officer (1971–73). He also served as a Warden for East Sussex Country Council from 1955–60. He attended the London School of Oriental and African Studies
School of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...
from 1966–7, then served as an Education Advisor for the East Pakistan Education Centre in Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
from 1967–71.
Clive King started writing as a child, stating that his first story was a script for a western film written in 1930. He had articles published in both his school and college magazines before his first book, Hamid of Aleppo, was published by Macmillan & Co, NY
Macmillan Publishers (United States)
Macmillan Publishers USA, also known as Macmillan Publishing, is a privately held American publishing company owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than 30 others....
in 1958. He wrote three more novels for children, The Town That went South (1959), Stig of the Dump
Stig of the Dump
Stig of the Dump is a children's novel by Clive King published in 1963. It is regarded as a modern children's classic and is often read in schools. It has been twice adapted for television, in 1981 and in 2002.-Plot summary:...
(1962) and The 22 Letters (1966) before deciding to become a full-time writer in 1973.
Clive King has been married twice, has three children and lives in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
.
Influences
King himself acknowledged the influence of his itinerant career in his writing: "Each of the things which I have written has been inspired by a particular place which I have visited or lived in. The settings are always as authentic as possible and they determine the action." These influences are noticeable in the settings for The Night The Water Came (relief operations on a tropical island), Snakes and Snakes (India), and The 22 Letters (the Middle East).Stig of the Dump
see also Stig of the DumpStig of the Dump
Stig of the Dump is a children's novel by Clive King published in 1963. It is regarded as a modern children's classic and is often read in schools. It has been twice adapted for television, in 1981 and in 2002.-Plot summary:...
Clive King's best-known novel is Stig of the Dump
Stig of the Dump
Stig of the Dump is a children's novel by Clive King published in 1963. It is regarded as a modern children's classic and is often read in schools. It has been twice adapted for television, in 1981 and in 2002.-Plot summary:...
(1963), illustrated by Edward Ardizzone
Edward Ardizzone
Edward Jeffrey Irving Ardizzone, CBE, RA was an English artist, writer and illustrator, chiefly of children's books.-Early life:...
, which follows the adventures of a boy who discovers a Stone-Age cave-dweller living at the bottom of a disused chalk pit (which has been used as an unofficial rubbish dump) in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. The concept is unusual in that it does not involve any of the common fantasy devices such as time-slip or magic. The book has reprinted many times and has been adapted for television.
The 22 Letters
The 22 Letters (1966), illustrated by Richard Kennedy, was the 250th title published by Puffin BooksPuffin Books
Puffin Books is the children's imprint of British publishers Penguin Books. Since the 1960s it has been the largest publisher of children's books in the UK and much of the English-speaking world.-Early history:...
.
Set in the eastern Mediterranean world of the 15th century BC, the story follows the adventures of the three sons of a Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
n master builder through three loosely linked stories in which they travel to Egypt (Sinai), to the court of King Minos (Crete
History of Crete
The History of Crete goes back to the 7th Millennium B.C., preceding the ancient Minoan civilization by more than four millennia. The Minoan civilization was the first civilization in Europe and the first, in Europe, to build a palace...
) and north to Ugarit
Ugarit
Ugarit was an ancient port city in the eastern Mediterranean at the Ras Shamra headland near Latakia, Syria. It is located near Minet el-Beida in northern Syria. It is some seven miles north of Laodicea ad Mare and approximately fifty miles east of Cyprus...
. They return and save the city from invasion with the help of the three inventions they find or discover: celestial navigation
Celestial navigation
Celestial navigation, also known as astronavigation, is a position fixing technique that has evolved over several thousand years to help sailors cross oceans without having to rely on estimated calculations, or dead reckoning, to know their position...
, horsemanship and alphabet
Alphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...
ic writing. In its time, The 22 Letters was considered, at over 300 pages, to be very long for a children's book although the scholarship and scope was admired.
Fiction
- Hamid of Aleppo, illustrated by Giovenetti. New York, Macmillan (1958)
- The Town That Went South, illustrated by Maurice Bartlett. New York, Macmillan (1959); London, Penguin (1961)
- Stig of the DumpStig of the DumpStig of the Dump is a children's novel by Clive King published in 1963. It is regarded as a modern children's classic and is often read in schools. It has been twice adapted for television, in 1981 and in 2002.-Plot summary:...
, illustrated by Edward ArdizzoneEdward ArdizzoneEdward Jeffrey Irving Ardizzone, CBE, RA was an English artist, writer and illustrator, chiefly of children's books.-Early life:...
. London, Penguin, (1963) - The 22 Letters, illustrated by Richard Kennedy. London, Hamish Hamilton,(1966); New York, Coward McCann (1967); ISBN 9780140302509
- The Night the Water Came, illustrated by Mark Peppé. London, Longman, (1973); New York, Crowell (1979)
- Snakes and Snakes, illustrated by Richard Kennedy. London, Kestrel (1975)
- Me and My Million. London Kestrel,(1976); New York, Crowell, (1979)
- The Inner Ring series, illustrated by Jacqueline Atkinson. London, Benn (1976)
- The Accident
- First Day Out
- High Jacks, Low Jacks
- The Secret
- The Devil's Cut, illustrated by Val BiroVal BiroVal Biro , children's author, artist and illustrator, was a native of Hungary now resident in Sussex in England. He received his education in Budapest and London...
. London, Hodder and Stoughton (1978) - Ninny's Boat, illustrated by Ian Newsham. London, Kestrel (1980);New York, Macmillan (1981)
- The Sound of Propellors (1986)
- The Seashore People (1987)
- A Touch of Class (1995)
Plays
- Poles Apart (produced London, 1975)
- The World of Light (produced London, 1976)
- Good Snakes, Bad Snakes (1977)
External links
- Clive King biography and bibliography – lists The 22 Letters as "especially enjoyable"