Louis de Bernières
Louis de Bernières | |
---|---|
Woolwich, London , England | |
Occupation | Novelist |
Period | 1990–present |
Louis de Bernières (born 8 December 1954) is an English novelist. He is known for his 1994
On 16 July 2008, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in the Arts by the De Montfort University in Leicester, which he had attended when it was Leicester Polytechnic.
Politically, he identifies himself as Eurosceptic and has voiced his support for the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union.[4]
Biography
Louis H. P. de Bernières-Smart was born near
In 2009 he separated from his partner, actress Cathy Gill, who took custody of their children, Robin and Sophie.[citation needed] Eventually, he gained equal custodial rights. He has never remarried.
De Bernières is an avid musician. He plays flute, mandolin, clarinet and guitar,[7] although he considers himself an "enthusiastic but badly-educated and erratic" amateur.[8] His literary work often references music and the composers he admires, such as the guitar works of Villa-Lobos and Antonio Lauro in the Latin American trilogy, and the mandolin works of Vivaldi and Hummel in Captain Corelli's Mandolin. He has dystonia, which affects his playing.[9]
Books
Latin American trilogy
According to de Bernières, his experiences in Colombia, and the influence of writer Gabriel García Márquez—he describes himself as a "Márquez parasite"—profoundly influenced his first three novels, The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts (1990), Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord (1991) and The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman (1992).
Captain Corelli's Mandolin
De Bernières' most famous book is his fourth,
In 2001, the book was turned into a film. De Bernières strongly disapproved of the film version, commenting, "It would be impossible for a parent to be happy about its baby's ears being put on backwards." He does however state that it has redeeming qualities, and particularly likes the soundtrack.
Since the release of the book and the movie, Cephalonia has become a major tourist destination, and the tourist industry on the island has begun to capitalise on the book's name. Of this, de Bernières said: "I was very displeased to see that a bar in Agia Efimia has abandoned its perfectly good Greek name and renamed itself Captain Corelli's, and I dread the idea that sooner or later there might be Captain Corelli Tours, or Pelagia Apartments."
Red Dog
His book Red Dog (2001) was inspired by a statue of a dog he saw during a visit to the Pilbara region of Western Australia.[10] It was adapted as a film of the same name in Australia in 2011.
Birds Without Wings
A Partisan's Daughter
A Partisan's Daughter (2008) tells of the relationship between a young Yugoslavian woman and a middle-aged British man in the 1970s, set in London.
Notwithstanding
"I realised that I had set so many of my novels and stories abroad, because custom had prevented me from seeing how exotic my own country is. Britain really is an immense lunatic asylum. That is one of the things that distinguishes us among the nations... We are rigid and formal in some ways, but we believe in the right to eccentricity, as long as the eccentricities are large enough... Woe betide you if you hold your knife incorrectly, but good luck to you if you wear a loincloth and live up a tree.
Blue Dog
The movie Red Dog: True Blue (2016) is adapted from a screenplay by Daniel Taplitz. In this prequel to the Red Dog, a boy named Mick is sent to the outback to live with his Granpa after a tragedy befalls on him, it looks as if he has a lonely life but while exploring the floodwaters, he finds a lost puppy covered in mud and half-drowned. Mick and his dog immediately become inseparable as they take on the adventures offered by their unusual home, and the business of growing up, together. Louis de Bernières tells the story of a young boy and his Granpa, and the charismatic and entertaining dog..[11]
The Daniel Pitt Trilogy
The Daniel Pitt Trilogy, comprising the three novels The Dust that Falls from Dreams (2015), So Much Life Left Over (2018), and The Autumn of the Ace (2020), follows the life of its central character Daniel Pitt, a flying ace in WWI, and the McCosh family through the 20th century. The story was strongly inspired by de Bernières' own grandfather's life.
Bibliography
Novels
- The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts (1990)
- Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord (1991)
- The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman (1992)
- Captain Corelli's Mandolin (1994), originally published as Corelli's Mandolin in the US
- Red Dog (2001)
- Birds Without Wings (2004)
- A Partisan's Daughter (2008)
- The Dust that Falls From Dreams (2015)
- Blue Dog (2016)
- So Much Life Left Over (2018)
- The Autumn of the Ace (2020)
- Light Over Liskeard (2023)
Short story collections
- Notwithstanding: Stories from an English Village(2009)
- Labels and Other Stories (2019)
Plays
Poetry
- A Walberswick Goodnight Story[12](2006)
- Imagining Alexandria (2013)
- Of Love and Desire (2016)
- The Cat in The Treble Clef [13](2018)
Non fiction
- The Book of Job: An Introduction[14] (1998)
References
- ^ Granta's Best of the Young British Novelists: 1993
- ^ The Penguin Readers' Group Website
- ^ Random House: Captain Corelli's Mandolin
- ^ "Louis de Bernières: Why I believe in Brexit". Financial Times. 24 January 2020. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.
- ^ Flood, Alison (31 March 2021). "Louis de Bernières reveals 'extreme cruelty' he suffered at prep school". The Guardian.
- ^ Millard, Rosie (17 August 2008). "At home with Louis de Bernières". The Times.
- ^ about at louisdebernieres.co.uk
- ^ Louis de Bernières, Music from the novels of Louis de Bernières (CD booklet; Colchester: Chandos, 1999), pp. 6–7
- ^ Jason Steger, Interview: Louis de Bernières, The Age, 25 July 2015, Specrtrum, p. 32. Retrieved 31 January 2017
- ^ byes The Bookbag
- ISBN 9781910701997.
- ^ Tartarus Press, 2006
- ^ Harvill Secker, 2018
- ISBN 0-86241-791-0
External links
- ITV Local Anglia's interview with Louis de Bernières May 2008
- Louis de Bernières at British Council: Literature
- At home with Louis de Bernieres interview with The Times.
- Louis de Bernières: 'Having a book made into a film is like losing your virginity' – Features, Books – The Independent