Philip Kerr
Philip Kerr | |
|---|---|
PEN American Center in 2014 | |
| Born | Philip Ballantyne Kerr 22 February 1956 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Died | 23 March 2018 (aged 62) London, England |
| Pen name | P. B. Kerr |
| Occupation | Author |
| Children | 3 |
| Website | |
| philipkerr | |
Philip Ballantyne Kerr (22 February 1956 – 23 March 2018) was a British author,[1][2][3] best known for his Bernie Gunther series of historical detective thrillers.
Early life
Kerr was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, where his father was an engineer and his mother worked as a secretary.[4] He was educated at a grammar school in Northampton. He studied at the University of Birmingham from 1974 to 1980, gaining a master's degree in law and philosophy.[5] Kerr worked as an advertising copywriter for Saatchi & Saatchi[5] before becoming a full-time writer in 1989. In a 2012 interview, Kerr noted that he began his literary career at the age of twelve by writing pornographic stories and lending them to classmates for a fee.[5]
Career
A writer of both adult fiction and non-fiction, he is known for the Bernhard "Bernie" Gunther series of 14
The Sunday Times, the Evening Standard, and the New Statesman. He was married to fellow novelist Jane Thynne; they lived in Wimbledon, London,[6] and had three children. Just before he died, he finished a 14th Bernie Gunther novel, Metropolis, which was published posthumously, in 2019.[7]
Awards and honours
In 1993, Kerr was named in
Ellis Peters Historic Crime Award that same year.[9] His novel, Prussian Blue, was longlisted for the 2018 Walter Scott Prize
.
Death
Kerr died at age 62 from bladder cancer on 23 March 2018.[10]
Publications
Novels
Bernie Gunther
- "Berlin Noir" "Bernie Gunther" trilogy, republished 1993 by Penguin Books in one volume. ISBN 978-0-14-023170-0.
- ISBN 0-670-82431-3, set in 1936
- ISBN 0-670-82433-X, set in 1938
- ISBN 0-670-83516-1, set in 1947–48
- Later "Bernie Gunther" novels
- The One from the Other. New York: Putnam, 2006. ISBN 978-0-399-15299-3, set in 1949 (intro set in 1937)
- A Quiet Flame. London: Quercus, 2008. ISBN 978-1-84724-356-0, set in 1950 and 1932-33
- ISBN 978-1-84724-942-5, set in 1934 and 1954
- Field Grey.ISBN 978-1-84916-412-2, set in 1954 with flashbacks from 1941, 1931, 1940, & 1945/46.
- Prague Fatale.ISBN 978-1-84916-415-3, set in 1941
- A Man Without Breath. London: Quercus, 2013. ISBN 978-1-78087-624-5, set in 1943
- The Lady from Zagreb. London: Quercus, 2015. ISBN 978-1-78206-582-1, set in 1942–3, with framing scenes in 1956.
- The Other Side of Silence. London: Quercus, 2016. ISBN 978-1-78429-514-1, set in 1956
- Prussian Blue. London: Quercus, 2017. ISBN 978-1-78429-648-3, set in 1939, with framing scenes in 1956
- Greeks Bearing Gifts. London: Quercus, 2018. ISBN 978-1-78429-652-0, set in 1957
- Metropolis. London: Quercus, 2019. ISBN 978-1-78747-321-8, set in 1928
- The One from the Other. New York: Putnam, 2006.
Scott Manson novels
- January Window. London: Head of Zeus, 23 October 2014.
- Hand of God. London: Head of Zeus, 4 June 2015. ASIN B00PULYUSW [13]
- False Nine. London: Head of Zeus, 5 November 2015. ASIN B00UVK10AS [13]
Stand alone novels
- ISBN 0-7011-4553-6
- Dead Meat.ISBN 0-7011-4703-2
- ISBN 0-7011-6248-1
- Esau. London: Chatto & Windus, 1996. ISBN 0-7011-6281-3
- A Five Year Plan. London: Hutchinson, 1997. ISBN 0-09-180165-6
- ISBN 0-7528-1443-5
- The Shot. London: Orion, 1999. ISBN 0-7528-1444-3
- Dark Matter: The Private Life of Sir Isaac Newton. New York: Crown, 2002. ISBN 0-609-60981-5
- Hitler's Peace. New York: Marian Wood, 2005. ISBN 0-399-15269-5
- Prayer. London: Quercus, 2013. ISBN 978-1782-06573-9
- The Winter Horses. New York: Knopf, 2014. ISBN 978-0-385-75543-6
- Research. London: Quercus, 2014. ISBN 978-1782-06577-7
- 1984.4.ISBN 978-3499218576
Non fiction
- The Penguin Book of Lies. 1991;1996
- The Penguin Book of Fights, Feuds and Heartfelt Hatreds: An Anthology of Antipathy. 1992;1993
Children's fiction (as P. B. Kerr)
Children of the Lamp
- ISBN 0-439-96365-6
- ISBN 0-439-95950-0
- ISBN 0-439-95958-6
- ISBN 978-1-4071-0365-5
- ISBN 978-0-439-93215-8
- The Five Fakirs of Faizabad. London: Scholastic Press, 2010.
- The Grave Robbers of Genghis Khan. London: Scholastic Press, 2011.
Stand alone fiction
- One Small Step. London: Simon & Schuster, 2008 (paper). ISBN 978-1-84738-300-6
- The Most Frightening Story Ever Told. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2016. ISBN 978-0-553-52209-9
- Friedrich der Große Detektiv (Frederick the Great Detective).ISBN 978-3-499-21791-3
Notes
- ^ "Philip Kerr". International Science Fiction Database.
- ^ The International Who's Who 2004. Europa Publications. 2003. p. 875.
Philip Kerr 22 February.
- ^ "Philip Kerr". Wavesound. Archived from the original on 12 March 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
- ^ Sandomir, Richard (27 March 2018). "Philip Kerr, 62, Author of 'Gunther' Crime Novels, Is Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
- ^ a b c d Toby Clements (23 January 2012). "Philip Kerr: Interview". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ Lauren May (13 September 2013). "Tom Hanks poised to bring novels of Wimbledon author Philip Kerr to small screen". Your Local Guardian. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ "Quercus pays tribute to 'cherished' author Philip Kerr - The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
- ^ Giles Tremlett (3 September 2009). "Philip Kerr wins €125,000 RBA crime writing prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
- ^ "Philip Kerr wins the 2009 CWA Ellis Peters Historic Crime Award" (Press release). The Crime Writers' Association. 29 October 2009. Archived from the original on 7 November 2013.
- ^ Kean, Danuta (25 March 2018). "Philip Kerr obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
- ^ The text on the dust jacket of UK hardback editions of Field Grey, as well as many listings at online retailers, contain an incorrect early plot summary referencing many elements – including the Isle of Pines as a location and Fidel Castro and a French intelligence officer named Thibaud as characters – that do not appear in the final book.
- novel with the same title, also about Reinhard Heydrich, by author Harry Turtledove.
- ^ a b "Philip Kerr".
- ^ Dead Meat was adapted for British television as Grushko, and a media tie-in edition was later published with that title.
- ^ As of 2023, published only in German and Turkish translations.
- ^ As of 2023, published only in a German translation.
External links
- Official Philip Kerr website
- Bernie Gunther fansite
- Interview in Shotsmag Ezine 2011
- Interview with Philip Kerr about Kerr's relationship with Berlin.
Recipients of the RBA Prize for Crime Writing | |
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