Eric Malpass

Eric Lawson Malpass (14 November 1910 – 16 October 1996) was an English novelist noted for his humorous and witty descriptions of rural family life, in particular that of his creation, the extended Pentecost family. However, Malpass also wrote historical fiction, ranging in scope from the late Middle Ages to Edwardian England. Malpass acquired his most devoted readership on the Continent, particularly in Germany, where most of his books were translated.

Born in Derby and educated at King Henry VIII School, Coventry, Malpass, while writing in his spare time, worked in a bank in Long Eaton Derbyshire. He would return home after a day's work and spend the evening writing. He was a regular contributor to Argosy, a short story magazine although it took him many years before he was first published. Many other short story magazines took his work and in 1955 he won the Observer short story competition. His first book, Beefy Jones, soon followed and then Mornings at Seven which received good reviews in the UK – but poor sales – and which then rocketed to the Best Seller List in Germany. It remained at the top of the List for three years, after which the powers that be stipulated that none one could remain there for so long in future. After his initial successes, especially with Morning's at Seven, he turned to writing full-time. (The Bank refused initially to accept his resignation, then said he would forfeit his pension and only changed its mind after very protracted discussions. Married, with one son, two granddaughters and five great grandchildren, he lived in Long Eaton, Derbyshire until five years before his death when he moved to Bishop's Waltham in Hampshire.

Novels

Tales from the Pentecost Family:

Other humorous novels:

The Shakespeare Trilogy:

Other novels with historical background:

All his novels were republished in 2001 by House of Stratus.

Short stories

Filmed versions

Malpass's books have never been filmed in his native England. Rather, it was mainly in Germany again where his success story continued on the big screen.

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, March 14, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.