Peter Rushforth
Encyclopedia
Peter Scott Rushforth was an English
teacher and novelist. He published only two novels in his lifetime; although they were separated by a quarter of a century, both were released to considerable critical acclaim. He died while on his weekly ramble with his friends, from his home in the village of Castleton on the North Yorkshire Moors.
Rushforth was born in Gateshead
in County Durham
, but was raised in Leeds
. He studied English
at Hull University. After completing a teacher's training course at Nottingham
, he became a full-time school teacher. He taught English for four years in Huddersfield
, before joining Friends' School in Great Ayton
, North Yorkshire
. In due course, he would become Head of English at this school.
His first novel Kindergarten was published in 1979. Kindled by Rushforth's interest in the Holocaust, and in particular his discovery of a cache of pre-war letters from Jewish parents pleading for their children's safe passage, Kindergarten was a short and disturbing novel, a grim reworking of the fable of Hansel and Gretel
from the canon of the Brothers Grimm
. The book was hailed on both sides of the Atlantic. It received rave reviews in the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times
, while in Britain, it won the Hawthornden Prize
, the oldest literary award in the UK. The Hawthornden, awarded annually for the "best work of imaginative literature", was particularly appropriate for the non-Jewish Rushforth who had written persuasively about the Holocaust.
The book then went out of print, and Rushforth was not to publish another novel for 25 years. Although he enjoyed teaching, it was a demanding job and he struggled to make time for his writing. In 1994, his friends took him on a trip to Brazil
, and as Rushforth put it, "left me on a mountain for a month with nothing to do but write". A rough draft of 28,000 words came out of this enforced holiday. The following year, he quit his teaching job to concentrate full-time on his writing.
Rushforth's meticulous craftsmanship meant that he did not produce a final version of his second novel until 2002; it had taken him 15 drafts to get there. Pinkerton's Sister (2004), a vast and dense novel, over 700 pages compressed into a single day, described the fantastic inner life of Alice Pinkerton, a brilliant spinster who is regarded as somewhat crazy by the turn-of-the-century New York
society around her, but who lives in her own, richly-detailed world of literature
, fertile with allusions to Shakespeare, Wilde, Poe, Whitman, Stevenson, Tennyson, Austen, and many others. This book too was hailed by literary critics. Its subject matter and style - stream-of-consciousness narrative over a single day, packed with literary references, and producing a panoramic portrait of a society - even led some critics to draw parallels to James Joyce's great novel Ulysses
.
Rushforth died just as his literary career was about to take off. His third novel, a follow-up to Pinkerton's Sister under the title A Dead Language, was published in the spring of 2006. Though Rushforth had planned three more novels after that, on a Sunday in September 2005; he had been walking on Blakey Ridge in the North Yorkshire Moors with his regular walking group when he suffered a heart attack
.
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...
teacher and novelist. He published only two novels in his lifetime; although they were separated by a quarter of a century, both were released to considerable critical acclaim. He died while on his weekly ramble with his friends, from his home in the village of Castleton on the North Yorkshire Moors.
Rushforth was born in Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
in County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, but was raised in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
. He studied English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
at Hull University. After completing a teacher's training course at Nottingham
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
, he became a full-time school teacher. He taught English for four years in Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
, before joining Friends' School in Great Ayton
Great Ayton
Great Ayton is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire on the edge of the North York Moors in England. The name Great Ayton is thought to derive from Ea-tun, tun meaning farm and 'ea' meaning river. It has a population of 4,570....
, North Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. In due course, he would become Head of English at this school.
His first novel Kindergarten was published in 1979. Kindled by Rushforth's interest in the Holocaust, and in particular his discovery of a cache of pre-war letters from Jewish parents pleading for their children's safe passage, Kindergarten was a short and disturbing novel, a grim reworking of the fable of Hansel and Gretel
Hansel and Gretel
"Hansel and Gretel" is a well-known fairy tale of German origin, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. Hansel and Gretel are a young brother and sister threatened by a cannibalistic hag living deep in the forest in a house constructed of cake and confectionery. The two children...
from the canon of the Brothers Grimm
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
. The book was hailed on both sides of the Atlantic. It received rave reviews in the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, while in Britain, it won the Hawthornden Prize
Hawthornden Prize
The Hawthornden Prize is a British literary award that was established in 1919 by Alice Warrender. Authors are awarded on the quality of their "imaginative literature" which can be written in either poetry or prose...
, the oldest literary award in the UK. The Hawthornden, awarded annually for the "best work of imaginative literature", was particularly appropriate for the non-Jewish Rushforth who had written persuasively about the Holocaust.
The book then went out of print, and Rushforth was not to publish another novel for 25 years. Although he enjoyed teaching, it was a demanding job and he struggled to make time for his writing. In 1994, his friends took him on a trip to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, and as Rushforth put it, "left me on a mountain for a month with nothing to do but write". A rough draft of 28,000 words came out of this enforced holiday. The following year, he quit his teaching job to concentrate full-time on his writing.
Rushforth's meticulous craftsmanship meant that he did not produce a final version of his second novel until 2002; it had taken him 15 drafts to get there. Pinkerton's Sister (2004), a vast and dense novel, over 700 pages compressed into a single day, described the fantastic inner life of Alice Pinkerton, a brilliant spinster who is regarded as somewhat crazy by the turn-of-the-century New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
society around her, but who lives in her own, richly-detailed world of literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, fertile with allusions to Shakespeare, Wilde, Poe, Whitman, Stevenson, Tennyson, Austen, and many others. This book too was hailed by literary critics. Its subject matter and style - stream-of-consciousness narrative over a single day, packed with literary references, and producing a panoramic portrait of a society - even led some critics to draw parallels to James Joyce's great novel Ulysses
Ulysses (novel)
Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
.
Rushforth died just as his literary career was about to take off. His third novel, a follow-up to Pinkerton's Sister under the title A Dead Language, was published in the spring of 2006. Though Rushforth had planned three more novels after that, on a Sunday in September 2005; he had been walking on Blakey Ridge in the North Yorkshire Moors with his regular walking group when he suffered a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
.
External links
- Details of life and work
- "A Review of Peter Rushforth's A Dead Language", by Christine Lagorio, a 2007 review of Rushforth's last novel in The BelieverThe Believer (magazine)The Believer is a United States literary magazine that also covers other arts and general culture. Founded and designed in 2003 by the writer and publisher Dave Eggers, it is edited by Vendela Vida, Heidi Julavits and Ed Park...