Louise Lawrence
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Holden, better known by her pen name
Louise Lawrence, is an English
science fiction
author, acclaimed during the 1970s and 1980s. She has been classified as a writer for young adults
, though due to the content of her books some have disagreed.
, in 1943. She became fascinated with Wales
at a young age, and has set many of her novels there. She has flourished as an autodidact; she left school early on to become an assistant librarian. She married and had the first of her three children in 1963. Her departure from the library, she recalls, gave her the potential to turn toward writing: "Deprived of book-filled surroundings, I was bound to write my own."
, about a futuristic society in which the ruler dominates the lives of the citizens of an underground city. The novel, a commentary on fascism
, was labeled young adult, despite Lawrence's disagreement with the classification. The novel, which featured some adult content, was toned down and adapted into a short-lived Australian
children's show in 1976.
, sparked controversy for its nightmarish vision of a future in which children are born with deformities and the government leaves the citizens to fend for themselves. It contains graphic violence, profane language, and descriptions of sexual activity, which got it banned from many school libraries. Despite this, the novel has developed a cult following
.
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
Louise Lawrence, is an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
author, acclaimed during the 1970s and 1980s. She has been classified as a writer for young adults
Young adult literature
Young-adult fiction or young adult literature , also juvenile fiction, is fiction written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents and young adults, roughly ages 14 to 21. The Young Adult Library Services of the American Library Association defines a young adult as "someone between the...
, though due to the content of her books some have disagreed.
Life Before Writing
Lawrence was born in Leatherhead, Surrey, EnglandEngland
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...
, in 1943. She became fascinated with Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
at a young age, and has set many of her novels there. She has flourished as an autodidact; she left school early on to become an assistant librarian. She married and had the first of her three children in 1963. Her departure from the library, she recalls, gave her the potential to turn toward writing: "Deprived of book-filled surroundings, I was bound to write my own."
Andra
In 1971, Lawrence released her first science fiction novel, AndraAndra
Andra is a 1971 science fiction novel, the first novel by English writer Louise Lawrence. The book was set 2000 years from now, after the world was destroyed by war leaving the earth knocked off its rotation and the ground above to become a desolate frozen wasteland with everyone that survived...
, about a futuristic society in which the ruler dominates the lives of the citizens of an underground city. The novel, a commentary on fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
, was labeled young adult, despite Lawrence's disagreement with the classification. The novel, which featured some adult content, was toned down and adapted into a short-lived Australian
Australian television
Television in Australia began experimentally as early as 1929 in Melbourne with stations 3DB and 3UZ using the Radiovision system by Gilbert Miles and Donal McDonald, and later from other locations, such as Brisbane in 1934....
children's show in 1976.
Children of the Dust
Lawrence's eighth novel, Children of the Dust, was published in 1985. The novel, about the aftermath of a nuclear holocaustNuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of the near complete annihilation of human civilization by nuclear warfare. Under such a scenario, all or most of the Earth is made uninhabitable by nuclear weapons in future world wars....
, sparked controversy for its nightmarish vision of a future in which children are born with deformities and the government leaves the citizens to fend for themselves. It contains graphic violence, profane language, and descriptions of sexual activity, which got it banned from many school libraries. Despite this, the novel has developed a cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
.
Books
- AndraAndraAndra is a 1971 science fiction novel, the first novel by English writer Louise Lawrence. The book was set 2000 years from now, after the world was destroyed by war leaving the earth knocked off its rotation and the ground above to become a desolate frozen wasteland with everyone that survived...
- The Power of Stars
- The Wyndcliffe
- Sing and Scatter the Daisies
- Star Lord
- To Whom the Wilderness Speaks
- Cat Call
- The Earth Witch
- Calling B for Butterfly
- The Dream Road
- Children of the Dust
- MoonwindMoonwind"Moonwind" is a 1986 science fiction novel by English author Louise Lawrence about two teenagers winning a trip to the moon. One of them, Gareth, a rebellious Welsh child, falls in love with an alien, Bethkahn, after the two meet on a couple of brief encounters. In the final pages of the book...
- The Warriors of Taan
- Satsuma
- Keeper of the Universe
- The Disinherited
- Dream-weaver
- The Crowlings
- The Llandor Trilogy