The Albatross

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The Albatross
First edition (collection)
Author	Susan Hill
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre	Social realism^[1]
Publisher	Hamish Hamilton (collection) Penguin Books (standalone)
Publication date	Feb 1971 / Nov 2000
Media type	Print & audio
Pages	192 / 96
Awards	John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
ISBN	0-241-01976-1 (collection) ISBN 0-14-029330-2 (standalone)

The Albatross is a novella written by Susan Hill, first appearing in the collection The Albatross and Other Stories published by Hamish Hamilton in 1971. It won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 1972.^[2] It appeared as a standalone book published by Penguin Books in 2000.^[3] It is studied in GCSE English as an example of the best of modern women's writing.^[4]

Plot introduction

The Albatross centres around Duncan, an intellectually disabled 18-year-old who has grown up with his domineering wheelchair-using mother^[1] in Heype, a Suffolk seaside town based on Aldeburgh.^[5] Duncan finds it difficult to cope with anything outside his daily routine, but is forced to interact with the wider world when his claustrophobic relationship with his mother reaches breaking point.

Inspiration

The story was partly inspired by local composer Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes.^[5]

Publication history

1971, UK, Hamish Hamilton, ISBN 0-241-01976-1, Pub date 11 Feb 1971, Hardback
1973, UK, Penguin, ISBN 0-14-003649-0, Pub date 25 Oct 1973, Paperback
1975, US, E.P. Dutton, ISBN 0-8415-0383-4, Hardback
1978, UK, Hamish Hamilton, ISBN 0-241-10090-9, Pub date Dec 1978, Hardback
1994, UK, Soundings, ISBN 1-854-96951-X, Audio cassette,^[6] Read by Patricia Gallimore
1995, UK, Isis, ISBN 1-85695-383-1, Pub date Jun 1995, Large print
2000, UK, Penguin, ISBN 0-14-029330-2, Pub date 30 Nov 2000, Paperback

^[7]

References

1 2 The Albatross Summary - Susan Hill - Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition on ENotes Retrieved 2011-07-17.
↑ Freeman, Hadley (2003-10-18). "Cotswold chameleon". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
↑ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/edition/?isbn=0140293302 Retrieved 2011-07-07.
↑ The Albatross - Study Texts S. (Book) by Susan Hill, et al. (1990): Waterstones.com Retrieved 2011-07-17.
1 2 Author's afterword in the 2000 Penguin edition of the book
↑ The Albatross / Susan Hill. (sound recording) / - Version details - Trove Retrieved 2013-01-02.
↑ www.fantasticfiction.co.uk Retrieved 2012-11-18.

External links

review of collection from Saturday Review Pub Date: Aug. 18th, 1975

The Enclosure (1961)
Do Me a Favour (1963)
Gentleman and Ladies (1968)
A Change for the Better (1969)
I'm the King of the Castle (1970)
Strange Meeting (1971)
The Bird of Night (1972)
In the Springtime of the Year (1973)
The Woman in Black (1983)
Air and Angels (1991)
The Mist in the Mirror (1992)
Mrs de Winter (1993)
The Service of Clouds (1997)
Corruption
The Going Down of the Sun
The Man in the Picture (2007)
The Beacon (2008)
The Small Hand (2010)

Simon Serrailler crime novels	The Various Haunts of Men (2004) The Pure in Heart (2005) The Risk of Darkness (2006) The Vows of Silence (2008) Shadows in the Streets (2010) The Betrayal of Trust (2011)

Short story collections

The Albatross and Other Stories (1970)
A Bit of Singing and Dancing (1973)
Listening to the Orchestra (1997)
The Boy Who Taught the Beekeeper to Read (2003)

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