Lisa St Aubin de Terán
Encyclopedia
Lisa St Aubin de Terán is an award-winning English
novelist, writer of autobiographical fictions, and memoirist.
Lisa St Aubin de Terán was born in 1953 and brought up in Clapham
in South London
. She attended the James Allen's Girls' School
. Her memoir, Hacienda (1998) describes how she abandoned her studies at the age of 17 for a disastrous first marriage to a sadistic Venezuelan landowner, Jaime Terán, living for seven years at a remote farm in the Andean region
of Venezuela
.
Her second husband was the Scottish poet and novelist George MacBeth
. In 1982 she published her first novel, Keepers of the House
, winning the Somerset Maugham Award
and a place on Granta
s 'Best of Young British Novelists' list (1983, issue #7). The Slow Train to Milan, winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
, followed in 1983. In the same year she moved to Wiggenhall St. Mary Magdalen in Norfolk. After her second marriage ended she returned to live in Italy.
In 1994 she presented an episode of the BBC
television series Great Railway Journeys
.
Her third husband was the painter, Robbie Duff Scott
(born 1959), with whom she moved to Umbria
, describing her life there in A Valley in Italy (1995).
Her work includes further novels and memoirs (including Memory Maps in 2003), short-story collections and poetry. Otto (Virago), a fictionalised biography, was published in 2006.
She has three children, including by her first husband a daughter, Iseult Teran, also a novelist. She now lives in Mossuril, Nampula Province, Mozambique with her partner Mees van Deth, where she has set up the Terán Foundation. This phase of her life has been described in Mozambique Mysteries (2007).
(novel) (Somerset Maugham Award
), 1982 The Slow Train to Milan, (John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
) 1983 The Tiger, 1984 The Bay of Silence, 1986 Black Idol, 1987 Joanna, 1990 Off the Rails: Memoirs of a Train Addict (memoir), 1990 Nocturne, 1992 The Tiger, 1994 A Valley in Italy, 1995 The Hacienda (memoir), 1998 The Palace, 1998 Indiscreet Journeys; Stories of Women on the RoadSouthpaw (short stories), 1999
Virago Book of Wanderlust and Dreams (anthology), 1999
The Marble Mountain and other stories (short stories)
The High Place (poetry)
Memory Maps, 2003
Otto, 2006 (Swallowing Stones, 2004)
Mozambique Mysteries, 2007
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
novelist, writer of autobiographical fictions, and memoirist.
Lisa St Aubin de Terán was born in 1953 and brought up in Clapham
Clapham
Clapham is a district in south London, England, within the London Borough of Lambeth.Clapham covers the postcodes of SW4 and parts of SW9, SW8 and SW12. Clapham Common is shared with the London Borough of Wandsworth, although Lambeth has responsibility for running the common as a whole. According...
in South 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 attended the James Allen's Girls' School
James Allen's Girls' School
James Allen's Girls' School, or JAGS, is an independent day school situated in Dulwich, South London, England. It has a senior school for 11–18 year old girls, a prep school for 7–11 year old girls , and a pre-preparatory school — JAPPS — for 4–7 year old girls.-Jags History:The school is part of...
. Her memoir, Hacienda (1998) describes how she abandoned her studies at the age of 17 for a disastrous first marriage to a sadistic Venezuelan landowner, Jaime Terán, living for seven years at a remote farm in the Andean region
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
of Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
.
Her second husband was the Scottish poet and novelist George MacBeth
George MacBeth
George Mann MacBeth was a Scottish poet and novelist. He was born in Shotts, Lanarkshire.When he was three, his family moved to Sheffield....
. In 1982 she published her first novel, Keepers of the House
Keepers of the House
Keepers of the House is the debut novel of Lisa St Aubin de Terán, published as The Long Way Home in the US. The novel is autobiographical and set in a Venezuelan valley beset by drought...
, winning the 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...
and a place on Granta
Granta
Granta is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centers on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real." In 2007, The Observer stated, "In its blend of...
s 'Best of Young British Novelists' list (1983, issue #7). The Slow Train to Milan, winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize is a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature by an author from the Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and published in the United Kingdom...
, followed in 1983. In the same year she moved to Wiggenhall St. Mary Magdalen in Norfolk. After her second marriage ended she returned to live in Italy.
In 1994 she presented an episode of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television series Great Railway Journeys
Great Railway Journeys
Great Railway Journeys, originally titled Great Railway Journeys of the World, is a recurring series of travel documentaries produced by BBC Television...
.
Her third husband was the painter, Robbie Duff Scott
Robbie Duff Scott
-Life and work:Robbie Duff Scott was born in Bristol. He was educated at Colston's School and went on to study at York University.Duff-Scott was a finalist at the 1984 John Player Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery, London, and a prize winner at the Royal West of England Academy,...
(born 1959), with whom she moved to Umbria
Umbria
Umbria is a region of modern central Italy. It is one of the smallest Italian regions and the only peninsular region that is landlocked.Its capital is Perugia.Assisi and Norcia are historical towns associated with St. Francis of Assisi, and St...
, describing her life there in A Valley in Italy (1995).
Her work includes further novels and memoirs (including Memory Maps in 2003), short-story collections and poetry. Otto (Virago), a fictionalised biography, was published in 2006.
She has three children, including by her first husband a daughter, Iseult Teran, also a novelist. She now lives in Mossuril, Nampula Province, Mozambique with her partner Mees van Deth, where she has set up the Terán Foundation. This phase of her life has been described in Mozambique Mysteries (2007).
Booklist
Keepers of the House
Keepers of the House is the debut novel of Lisa St Aubin de Terán, published as The Long Way Home in the US. The novel is autobiographical and set in a Venezuelan valley beset by drought...
(novel) (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...
), 1982 The Slow Train to Milan, (John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize is a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature by an author from the Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and published in the United Kingdom...
) 1983 The Tiger, 1984 The Bay of Silence, 1986 Black Idol, 1987 Joanna, 1990 Off the Rails: Memoirs of a Train Addict (memoir), 1990 Nocturne, 1992 The Tiger, 1994 A Valley in Italy, 1995 The Hacienda (memoir), 1998 The Palace, 1998 Indiscreet Journeys; Stories of Women on the Road