Jill Paton Walsh
Encyclopedia
Jill Paton Walsh, CBE
, FRSL
(born 29 April 1937) is an English novelist and children's writer.
Born as Gillian Bliss and educated at St. Michael's Convent, North Finchley, London
, she read English Literature at St Anne's College, Oxford. She lives in Cambridge
.
's Tale, A Parcel of Patterns, Birdy and the Ghosties, Grace, Thomas and the Tinners, The Green Book, Goldengrove, Gaffer Samson's Luck (Smarties
Prizewinner 1985) and The Emperor's Winding Sheet (Whitbread Children's Prizewinner 1974).
Knowledge of Angels
, a medieval philosophical
novel, was shortlisted for the 1994 Booker Prize. Other adult novels include Lapsing
(about Catholic university students), A School for Lovers (a reworking of the plot of Mozart's Cosi fan tutte
) The Serpentine Cave (based on a lifeboat disaster in St Ives
) and A Desert in Bohemia which follows a group of characters in England and in an imaginary Eastern European country through the years between World War II and 1989.
: The Wyndham Case (1993), A Piece of Justice (1995), Debts of Dishonour (2006) and The Bad Quarto (2007).
' unfinished Lord Peter Wimsey
- Harriet Vane
novel, Thrones, Dominations
. In 2002, she followed this up with another Lord Peter novel, A Presumption of Death
. In 2010, she published a third, The Attenbury Emeralds
.
for services to literature and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
.
In an essay on realism in children's literature, Walsh stated that realism (like fantasy) is also metaphorical, and that she would like the relationship between the reader and her characters Bill and Judie to be as metaphorical as that between "dragons and the reader's greed or courage".
. Her brother is Christopher John Emile Bliss, PhD, FBA. He was Nuffield Professor of International Economics at Oxford University from 1992-2007 and a Fellow of Nuffield College from 1977-2007.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, FRSL
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...
(born 29 April 1937) is an English novelist and children's writer.
Born as Gillian Bliss and educated at St. Michael's Convent, North Finchley, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, she read English Literature at St Anne's College, Oxford. She lives in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
.
Works
Novels for children include: The Dolphin Crossing, Fireweed, Babylon, HengestHengest
Hengist and Horsa are figures of Anglo-Saxon, and subsequently British, legend, which records the two as the Germanic brothers who led the Angle, Saxon, and Jutish armies that conquered the first territories of Great Britain in the 5th century AD...
's Tale, A Parcel of Patterns, Birdy and the Ghosties, Grace, Thomas and the Tinners, The Green Book, Goldengrove, Gaffer Samson's Luck (Smarties
Nestlé Smarties Book Prize
The Nestlé Children's Book Prize, also known as the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, was an annual award given to children's books written in the previous year by a UK citizen or resident. The prize was administered by Booktrust, an independent charity which promotes books and reading, and sponsored by...
Prizewinner 1985) and The Emperor's Winding Sheet (Whitbread Children's Prizewinner 1974).
Knowledge of Angels
Knowledge of Angels
Knowledge of Angels is a medieval philosophical novel by Jill Paton Walsh which was shortlisted for the 1994 Booker Prize.-Plot introduction:Jill Paton Walsh writes...
, a medieval philosophical
Medieval philosophy
Medieval philosophy is the philosophy in the era now known as medieval or the Middle Ages, the period roughly extending from the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century AD to the Renaissance in the sixteenth century...
novel, was shortlisted for the 1994 Booker Prize. Other adult novels include Lapsing
Lapsed Catholic
A lapsed Catholic is a person who has ceased practicing the Catholic faith, in the sense of attending Mass. Such a person may still identify as a Catholic.-"Lapsed Catholic" and "ex-Catholic":...
(about Catholic university students), A School for Lovers (a reworking of the plot of Mozart's Cosi fan tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
) The Serpentine Cave (based on a lifeboat disaster in St Ives
St Ives, Cornwall
St Ives is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times it was commercially dependent on fishing. The decline in fishing, however, caused a shift in commercial...
) and A Desert in Bohemia which follows a group of characters in England and in an imaginary Eastern European country through the years between World War II and 1989.
Imogen Quy
She authored four detective stories featuring part-time college nurse Imogen Quy, based in fictional St. Agatha's College, University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
: The Wyndham Case (1993), A Piece of Justice (1995), Debts of Dishonour (2006) and The Bad Quarto (2007).
Lord Peter Wimsey
In 1998, she won acclaim for her completion of Dorothy L. SayersDorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...
' unfinished Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey is a bon vivant amateur sleuth in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers, in which he solves mysteries; usually, but not always, murders...
- Harriet Vane
Harriet Vane
Harriet Deborah Vane, later Lady Peter Wimsey, is a fictional character in the works of British writer Dorothy L. Sayers ....
novel, Thrones, Dominations
Thrones, Dominations
Thrones, Dominations is a Lord Peter Wimsey murder mystery novel that Dorothy L. Sayers began writing but abandoned, and which remained as fragments and notes at her death. It was completed by Jill Paton Walsh and published in 1998...
. In 2002, she followed this up with another Lord Peter novel, A Presumption of Death
A Presumption of Death
A Presumption of Death is a mystery novel by Jill Paton Walsh, based loosely on The Wimsey Papers by Dorothy L. Sayers. The Wimsey Papers were a series of articles published by Sayers during World War II, purporting to be letters written between the various Wimseys during the war A Presumption of...
. In 2010, she published a third, The Attenbury Emeralds
The Attenbury Emeralds
The Attenbury Emeralds is the third Lord Peter Wimsey detective novel to be written by Jill Paton Walsh. It was published by Hodder & Stoughton in September 2010.Closely following Lord Peter creator Dorothy L...
.
Honours
In 1996, Jill Paton Walsh received the CBEOrder of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for services to literature and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...
.
In an essay on realism in children's literature, Walsh stated that realism (like fantasy) is also metaphorical, and that she would like the relationship between the reader and her characters Bill and Judie to be as metaphorical as that between "dragons and the reader's greed or courage".
Family
In 1961, she married Antony Paton Walsh, now deceased; they had one son and two daughters. In 2004, she married John Rowe TownsendJohn Rowe Townsend
John Rowe Townsend is a British children's author and academic. His best-known children's novel is The Intruder, which won a 1971 Edgar Award and the best-known academic work is Written for Children: An Outline of English Language Children's Literature , the definitive work of its time on the...
. Her brother is Christopher John Emile Bliss, PhD, FBA. He was Nuffield Professor of International Economics at Oxford University from 1992-2007 and a Fellow of Nuffield College from 1977-2007.
External links
- Biography on Jill Paton Walsh's website
- Full bibliography on her own website updated only until 2000