William Boyd (writer)
Encyclopedia
William Boyd, CBE
(born 7 March 1952) is a Scottish
novelist and screenwriter
.
and Nigeria
, in Africa
. He was educated at Gordonstoun
school, in Moray
, Scotland; and then the University of Nice, France
, the University of Glasgow
, Scotland, and finally Jesus College
, University of Oxford
, England
.
Between 1980 and 1983 he was a lecturer in English
at St Hilda's College, Oxford
, and it was while he was there that his first novel, A Good Man in Africa
(1981), was published.
He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire
in 2005. He currently lives in London
.
magazine and the Book Marketing Council.
Boyd's novels include: A Good Man in Africa
, a study of a disaster-prone British diplomat operating in West Africa, for which he won the Whitbread Book award and Somerset Maugham Award
in 1981; An Ice-Cream War
, set against the background of the World War I
campaigns in colonial East Africa, which won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
and was nominated for the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1982; Brazzaville Beach
, published in 1991, which follows a female scientist researching chimpanzee
behaviour in Africa; and Any Human Heart
, written in the form of the journals of a fictitious twentieth century British writer, which was long-listed for the Booker Prize in 2002. Restless
, the tale of a young woman who discovers that her mother had been recruited as a spy during World War II
, was published in 2006 and won the Novel Award in the 2006 Costa Book Awards
.
; Stars and Bars
(1988), adapted from Boyd's own novel; Mister Johnson
(1990); A Good Man in Africa (1994), also adapted from his own novel; and The Trench
(1999) which he also directed. He was one of a number of writers who worked on Chaplin (1992). His television screenwriting credits include: Good and Bad at Games
(1983), adapted from Boyd's short story about English public school life; Dutch Girls
(1985); Armadillo (2001), adapted from his own novel; A Waste of Shame
(2005) about Shakespeare; and Any Human Heart
(2010), also adapted from his own novel.
, which presents the paintings and tragic biography of a supposed New York-based 1950s
Abstract Expressionist painter named Nat Tate, who actually never existed and was, along with his paintings, a creation of Boyd's. When the book was initially published, it was not revealed that it was a work of fiction, and some were duped by the hoax
; it was launched at a lavish party, with excerpts read by David Bowie
(who was in on the joke), and a number of prominent members of the art world claimed to remember the artist. It caused quite a stir once the truth was revealed.
The name Nat Tate is derived from the names of the two leading British
art galleries: The National Gallery
and The Tate Gallery
.
Nat Tate also appears in Any Human Heart
, also by Boyd, with a wry footnote to the 1998 book.
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...
(born 7 March 1952) is a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
novelist and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
.
Biography
Of Scottish descent, Boyd spent his early life in GhanaGhana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
and Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. He was educated at Gordonstoun
Gordonstoun
Gordonstoun School is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils in Moray in North East Scotland. Named after the estate originally owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 1600s, the school now uses this estate as its campus...
school, in Moray
Moray
Moray is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.- History :...
, Scotland; and then the University of Nice, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
, Scotland, and finally Jesus College
Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...
, University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, England
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...
.
Between 1980 and 1983 he was a lecturer in 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 St Hilda's College, Oxford
St Hilda's College, Oxford
St Hilda's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.The college was founded in 1893 as a hall for women, and remained an all-women's college until 2006....
, and it was while he was there that his first novel, A Good Man in Africa
A Good Man in Africa
A Good Man in Africa is a novel by William Boyd.-Film adaptation:In 1994 the novel was made into a film of the same name, with a script written by Boyd.- External links :*...
(1981), was published.
He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire
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...
in 2005. He currently lives in 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...
.
Novels
Although his novels have been short-listed for major prizes, he has never had the same publicity as his contemporaries. Boyd was selected in 1983 as one of the 20 'Best of Young British Novelists' in a promotion run by GrantaGranta
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...
magazine and the Book Marketing Council.
Boyd's novels include: A Good Man in Africa
A Good Man in Africa
A Good Man in Africa is a novel by William Boyd.-Film adaptation:In 1994 the novel was made into a film of the same name, with a script written by Boyd.- External links :*...
, a study of a disaster-prone British diplomat operating in West Africa, for which he won the Whitbread Book award and 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...
in 1981; An Ice-Cream War
An Ice-Cream War
An Ice-Cream War is a darkly comic war novel by Scottish author William Boyd, which was nominated for a Booker Prize in the year of its publication.- Synopsis :...
, set against the background of the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
campaigns in colonial East Africa, which won 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...
and was nominated for the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1982; Brazzaville Beach
Brazzaville Beach
Brazzaville Beach is a novel by William Boyd, for which he was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for 1990, and the McVitie's Prize for Scottish Writer of the Year. The book tells the story of a woman researching chimpanzees, Hope Clearwater, and the circumstances that brought her to...
, published in 1991, which follows a female scientist researching chimpanzee
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
behaviour in Africa; and Any Human Heart
Any Human Heart
Any Human Heart: The Intimate Journals of Logan Mountstuart is a 2002 novel by William Boyd, a Scottish writer. It is written as a lifelong series of journals kept by the protagonist, Logan Mountstuart, a writer whose life spanned the defining episodes of the twentieth century, crossed several...
, written in the form of the journals of a fictitious twentieth century British writer, which was long-listed for the Booker Prize in 2002. Restless
Restless (novel)
Restless, an espionage novel by William Boyd, was published in 2006 and won the Costa Prize for fiction.The novel depicts the tale of a young woman who discovers that her mother was recruited as a spy during World War II. Its intrigue may well be a function of the style of prose. The book...
, the tale of a young woman who discovers that her mother had been recruited as a spy during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, was published in 2006 and won the Novel Award in the 2006 Costa Book Awards
2006 Costa Book Awards
The Costa Book of the Year shortlist was announced on 10 January 2007 and the final results at a ceremony held on 7 February 2007.-Book of the Year:*Stef Penney, The Tenderness of Wolves-Children's Book:Winner:*Linda Newbery, Set in StoneShortlist:...
.
Screenplays
As a screenwriter Boyd has written a number of feature film and television productions. The feature films include: Scoop (1987), adapted from the Evelyn Waugh novelScoop (novel)
Scoop is a 1938 novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, a satire of sensationalist journalism and foreign correspondence.-Plot:William Boot, a young man who lives in genteel poverty far from the iniquities of London, is contributor of nature notes to Lord Copper's Beast, a national newspaper...
; Stars and Bars
Stars and Bars (film)
Stars and Bars is an American comedy film released in 1988, directed by Pat O'Connor and based on a book by William Boyd. The film stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Henderson Dores.-Plot:...
(1988), adapted from Boyd's own novel; Mister Johnson
Mister Johnson
Mister Johnson is a 1990 American drama film based on the 1939 novel by Joyce Cary. The film was entered into the 41st Berlin International Film Festival, where Maynard Eziashi won the Silver Bear for Best Actor.The film was shot in Toro, Nigeria...
(1990); A Good Man in Africa (1994), also adapted from his own novel; and The Trench
The Trench (film)
The Trench is a 1999 film directed by William Boyd that portrays a group of young British soldiers on the eve of the Battle of the Somme in the last 48 hours.-Synopsis:...
(1999) which he also directed. He was one of a number of writers who worked on Chaplin (1992). His television screenwriting credits include: Good and Bad at Games
Good and Bad at Games
Good and Bad at Games is a UK Television drama that was one of the first programmes broadcast on Channel 4 Television in 1983. The screenplay was written by William Boyd and the lead roles of Cox, Mount and Niles were played by Anton Lesser, Dominic Jephcott and Martyn Stanbridge. A young Rupert...
(1983), adapted from Boyd's short story about English public school life; Dutch Girls
Dutch Girls
Dutch Girls is a 1985 film, released by the London Weekend Television Company, produced by Sue Birtwistle, directed by Giles Foster, and written by William Boyd. The film is about a group of young men who go to Holland to play hockey. Along the way they drink, smoke, and try to have sex...
(1985); Armadillo (2001), adapted from his own novel; A Waste of Shame
A Waste of Shame
A Waste of Shame is a 90-minute television drama on the circumstances surrounding William Shakespeare's composition of his sonnets. It takes its title from the first line of Sonnet 129...
(2005) about Shakespeare; and Any Human Heart
Any Human Heart (TV series)
Any Human Heart is a 2010 BAFTA award–winning TV adaptation of the novel Any Human Heart by William Boyd. It was announced in April 2010 and broadcast in four parts from 21 November to 12 December 2010 on Channel 4 in the UK and in three parts during February 2011 on the PBS series Masterpiece in...
(2010), also adapted from his own novel.
Hoax
In 1998, Boyd published Nat Tate: An American Artist 1928-1960Nat Tate: An American Artist 1928-1960
Nat Tate - An American Artist 1928-1960 is a 1998 fictional biography by William Boyd.-Nat Tate:Nat Tate was an imaginary person, invented by Boyd and created as "an abstract expressionist who destroyed '99%' of his work and leapt to his death from the Staten Island ferry...
, which presents the paintings and tragic biography of a supposed New York-based 1950s
1950s
The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...
Abstract Expressionist painter named Nat Tate, who actually never existed and was, along with his paintings, a creation of Boyd's. When the book was initially published, it was not revealed that it was a work of fiction, and some were duped by the hoax
Hoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
; it was launched at a lavish party, with excerpts read by David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
(who was in on the joke), and a number of prominent members of the art world claimed to remember the artist. It caused quite a stir once the truth was revealed.
The name Nat Tate is derived from the names of the two leading British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
art galleries: The National Gallery
National Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
and The Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
.
Nat Tate also appears in Any Human Heart
Any Human Heart
Any Human Heart: The Intimate Journals of Logan Mountstuart is a 2002 novel by William Boyd, a Scottish writer. It is written as a lifelong series of journals kept by the protagonist, Logan Mountstuart, a writer whose life spanned the defining episodes of the twentieth century, crossed several...
, also by Boyd, with a wry footnote to the 1998 book.
Literary Prizes and Awards
- 1981 Whitbread First Novel Award A Good Man in Africa
- 1982 Booker Prize for Fiction (shortlist) An Ice-Cream War
- 1982 Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys PrizeJohn Llewellyn Rhys PrizeThe 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...
An Ice-Cream War - 1982 Somerset Maugham AwardSomerset Maugham AwardThe 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...
A Good Man in Africa - 1983 Selected as one of the 20 'Best of Young British Novelists' by Granta magazine and the Book Marketing Council
- 1990 James Tait Black Memorial PrizeJames Tait Black Memorial PrizeFounded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English language and are Britain's oldest literary awards...
(for fiction) Brazzaville Beach - 1991 McVitie's Prize for Scottish Writer of the Year Brazzaville Beach
- 1993 Sunday Express Book of the Year The Blue Afternoon
- 1995 Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Fiction) The Blue Afternoon
- 2004 International IMPAC Dublin Literary AwardInternational IMPAC Dublin Literary AwardThe International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award is an international literary award for a work of fiction, jointly sponsored by the city of Dublin, Ireland and the company IMPAC. At €100,000 it is one of the richest literary prizes in the world...
(shortlist) Any Human Heart - 2006 Costa Book Award Restless
- 2007 British Book Awards Richard and Judy Best Read of the Year (shortlist) Restless
External links
- William Boyd official website