William Sutcliffe
Encyclopedia
William Sutcliffe is a British
novelist.
An alumnus
of Haberdashers' Aske's School
, Sutcliffe started his career with a novel about school life entitled New Boy
(1996
), which was followed by his best-known work so far, Are You Experienced? (1997
), a pre-university gap year
novel, in which a group of young Brits travel to India
without really knowing what to expect or what to do there. The Love Hexagon (2000
) is about six young Londoners who have difficulty committing themselves to a relationship. Sutcliffe's most recent book, Whatever Makes You Happy (2008
), is about interfering mothers and men who refuse to grow up.
Sutcliffe's novels could be categorised as humorous. New Boy
has much authentic material in it that refers to actual incidents from his life at Haberdashers', although it would be going too far to call it "autobiographical".
In 2009, he donated the short story Sandcastles: A Negotiation to Oxfam's 'Ox-Tales
' project, four collections of UK stories written by 38 authors. Sutcliffe's story was published in the 'Fire' collection.
At Haberdashers', Sutcliffe was in the same year as Sacha Baron Cohen
(aka Ali G
) and Nick Goldsmith
.
He is married to the novelist Maggie O'Farrell
, whom he met whilst an undergraduate at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
in the early 1990s.
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...
novelist.
An alumnus
Alumnus
An alumnus , according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is "a graduate of a school, college, or university." An alumnus can also be a former member, employee, contributor or inmate as well as a former student. In addition, an alumna is "a female graduate or former student of a school, college,...
of Haberdashers' Aske's School
Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School
The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School is a British independent school for boys aged 4–19. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and of the Haileybury Group....
, Sutcliffe started his career with a novel about school life entitled New Boy
New Boy
New Boy is a novel, published in 1996, written by British novelist William Sutcliffe.The book is largely autobiographical, mixing fact and fiction...
(1996
1996 in literature
The year 1996 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is removed from an advanced placement English reading list in Lindale, Texas because it "conflicted with the values of the community."* In the United Kingdom, the first...
), which was followed by his best-known work so far, Are You Experienced? (1997
1997 in literature
The year 1997 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Tom Clancy signs a book deal with Pearson Custom Publishing and Penguin Putnam Inc. , giving him US$50 million for the world-English rights to two new books . A second agreement gives him another US$25 million for a...
), a pre-university gap year
Gap year
An expression or phrase that is associated with taking time out to travel in between life stages. It is also known as sabbatical, time off and time out that refers to a period of time in which students disengage from curricular education and undertake non curricular activities, such as travel or...
novel, in which a group of young Brits travel to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
without really knowing what to expect or what to do there. The Love Hexagon (2000
2000 in literature
The year 2000 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* February 13 - Final original Peanuts comic strip is published...
) is about six young Londoners who have difficulty committing themselves to a relationship. Sutcliffe's most recent book, Whatever Makes You Happy (2008
2008 in literature
The year 2008 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*January 1 - In the 2008 New Year Honours, Hanif Kureishi , Jenny Uglow , Peter Vansittart and Debjani Chatterjee are all rewarded for "services to literature".*June 15 - Gore Vidal, asked in a New York Times...
), is about interfering mothers and men who refuse to grow up.
Sutcliffe's novels could be categorised as humorous. New Boy
New Boy
New Boy is a novel, published in 1996, written by British novelist William Sutcliffe.The book is largely autobiographical, mixing fact and fiction...
has much authentic material in it that refers to actual incidents from his life at Haberdashers', although it would be going too far to call it "autobiographical".
In 2009, he donated the short story Sandcastles: A Negotiation to Oxfam's 'Ox-Tales
Ox-Tales
Ox-Tales refers to four anthologies of short stories written by 38 of the UK's best known authors. All the authors donated their stories to Oxfam...
' project, four collections of UK stories written by 38 authors. Sutcliffe's story was published in the 'Fire' collection.
At Haberdashers', Sutcliffe was in the same year as Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Noam Baron Cohen is an English stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and voice artist. He is most widely known for his portrayal of three unorthodox fictional characters: Ali G, Borat, and Brüno...
(aka Ali G
Ali G
Ali G is a satirical fictional character invented and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Originally appearing on Channel 4's Eleven O'Clock show, Ali G is the title character of Channel 4's Da Ali G Show, original episodes of which aired in 2000 and on HBO in 2003–2004, and is the...
) and Nick Goldsmith
Nick Goldsmith
Nicholas Goldsmith , is a British film, TV and music video producer.Goldsmith is one half of Hammer & Tongs, a production company. The other half, Garth Jennings, is normally credited as writer and director for their work...
.
He is married to the novelist Maggie O'Farrell
Maggie O'Farrell
Maggie O'Farrell is a British author of contemporary fiction, who features in Waterstones' 25 Authors for the Future It is possible to identify several common themes in her novels – the relationship between sisters is one, another is loss and the psychological impact of those losses on the lives...
, whom he met whilst an undergraduate at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
in the early 1990s.
External links
- William Sutcliffe's Top 10 relationship novels in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...