Biography
Novelist and children's writer Penelope Lively was born in Cairo, Egypt, in 1933 and brought up there. She came to England in 1945, went to school in Sussex, and read Modern History at St Ann's College, Oxford.
Her many books written for children include Astercote (1970), The Whispering Knights (1971) and The Ghost of Thomas Kempe (1973), which won the Carnegie Medal, A Stitch in Time (1976), which won the Whitbread Children's Book Award. Her retelling of The Aeneid, entitled In Search of a Homeland, was published in 2001 with illustrations by Ian Andrew.
Her first novel written for adults was The Road to Lichfield (1977), shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction. It was followed by Treasures of Time (1979), winner of the Arts Council National Book Award and Judgement Day (1980). According to Mark (1984) was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction. She won the Booker Prize for Fiction with Moon Tiger (1987), the story of a woman journalist's reflections on a troubled life as she lies dying in a hospital bed, overshadowed by the memories of a love affair with a young soldier during the Second World War. More recent novels include Cleopatra's Sister (1993) and Heatwave (1996).
Spiderweb (1998) is the story of Stella Brentwood, a retired anthropologist, struggling to settle in a small village in Somerset after a lifetime spent travelling through Egypt, Greece and the Mediterranean. Nothing Missing but the Samovar (1978), a collection of short stories, won the Southern Arts Literature Prize. Many of her short stories are collected in Pack of Cards: Collected Short Stories 1978-1986 (1986).
She has written two volumes of autobiography, Oleander, Jacaranda: A Childhood Perceived (1994), a description of her childhood spent in Egypt, and A House Unlocked (2001), which continues the story in England.
Penelope Lively contributes regularly to a number of national daily newspapers and literary and educational journals including the Sunday Times, The Observer and the Times Educational Supplement. She has written radio and television scripts and was presenter for a BBC Radio 4 programme on children's literature. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, a member of PEN and a former Chairman of The Society of Authors. She was awarded an OBE in 1989 and a CBE in 2001. Her novel, The Photograph (2003), is the story of a chance discovery that reveals the secrets of a woman's life. Recent books include Making it Up (2005), a form of anti-memoir, in which she imagines alternative outcomes to her life; and Consequences, a novel published in 2007.
Spooky Tales: Three Stories in One (2008) features Penelope Lively's story 'Debbie and the Little Devil', with stories by Mary Hoffman and Gillian Cross.
Bibliography
Astercote Heinemann, 1970
The Whispering Knights Heinemann, 1971
The Wild Hunt of Hagworthy Heinemann, 1971
The Driftway Heinemann, 1972
The Ghost of Thomas Kempe Heinemann, 1973
The House in Norham Gardens Heinemann, 1974
Boy Without a Name Heinemann, 1975
Going Back Heinemann, 1975
A Stitch in Time Heinemann, 1976
Fanny's Sister Heinemann, 1976
The Presence of the Past: An Introduction to Landscape History Collins, 1976
The Road to Lichfield Heinemann, 1977
Nothing Missing but the Samovar Heinemann, 1978
The Voyage of QV 66 Heinemann, 1978
Fanny and the Monsters Heinemann, 1979
Treasures of Time Heinemann, 1979
Fanny and the Battle of Potter's Piece Heinemann, 1980
Judgement Day Heinemann, 1980
The Revenge of Samuel Stokes Heinemann, 1981
Next to Nature, Art Heinemann, 1982
Perfect Happiness Heinemann, 1983
A Father and his Fate/Ivy Compton-Burnett (introduction) Oxford University Press, 1984
According to Mark Heinemann, 1984
Corruption Heinemann, 1984
Dragon Trouble Heinemann, 1984
Uninvited Ghosts and Other Stories Heinemann, 1984
Pack of Cards: Collected Short Stories 1978-1986 Heinemann, 1986
A House Inside Out André Deutsch, 1987
Debbie and the Little Devil Heinemann, 1987
Manservant and Maidservant/Ivy Compton-Burnett (introduction) Oxford University Press, 1987
Moon Tiger Heinemann, 1987
The Age of Innocence/Edith Wharton (introduction) Virago, 1988
Passing On André Deutsch, 1989
The Stained Glass Window Julia MacRae Books, 1990
City of the Mind André Deutsch, 1991
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland/Lewis Carroll (introduction) Everyman, 1993
Cleopatra's Sister Viking, 1993
Judy and the Martian Simon & Schuster, 1993
Princess by Mistake Simon & Schuster, 1993
Oleander, Jacaranda: A Childhood Perceived Viking, 1994
The Cat, the Crow and the Banyan Tree Walker Books, 1994
Disastrous Dog Macdonald, 1995
Staying with Grandpa Viking, 1995
Two Bears and Joe Viking, 1995
Good Night, Sleep Tight (illustrated by Adriano Gon) Walker, 1996
Heatwave Viking, 1996
My Antonia/Willa Cather (introduction) Everyman, 1996
The Mythical Quest (introduction) British Library, 1996
Ghostly Guests Mammoth, 1997
Goldilocks (editor) Macdonald Young Books, 1997
Staying with Grandpa Puffin, 1997
Two Bears and Joe (illustrated by Jan Ormerod) Puffin, 1997
Uninvited Ghosts and Other Stories Mammoth, 1997
Beyond the Blue Mountains Penguin, 1998
Spiderweb Viking, 1998
Dragon Trouble (illustrated by Kevin Rowland) Mammoth, 1999
May Anthology of Oxford and Cambridge Short Stories (editor) Varsity Publications, Cambridge, 1999
One, Two, Three Jump! (illustrated by Jan Ormerod) Puffin, 1999
A House Unlocked Viking, 2001
In Search of a Homeland (illustrated by Ian Andrew) Frances Lincoln, 2001
The Photograph Viking, 2003
Making it Up Viking, 2005
Consequences Viking, 2007
Spooky Stories: Three Stories in One (with Mary Hoffman and Gillian Cross) Egmont Books, 2008
Prizes and awards
1973 Carnegie Medal The Ghost of Thomas Kempe
1976 Whitbread Children's Book Award A Stitch in Time
1977 Booker Prize for Fiction (shortlist) The Road to Lichfield
1978 Southern Arts Literature Prize Nothing Missing but the Samovar
1979 Arts Council National Book Award Treasures of Time
1984 Booker Prize for Fiction (shortlist) According to Mark
1987 Booker Prize for Fiction Moon Tiger
1989 OBE
2001 CBE
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