Fred Urquhart | |
---|---|
Born | Frederick Burrows Urquhart 12 July 1912 Edinburgh, Scotland |
Died | 2 December 1995 Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland | (aged 83)
Occupation | writer, reviewer, editor |
Genre | Short Story |
Notable awards | Tom-Gallon Trust Award |
Partner | Peter Wyndham Allen |
Fred Urquhart or Frederick Burrows Urquhart (12 July 1912 – 2 December 1995) was a Scottish short story writer, novelist, editor and reviewer. [1] He is considered Scotland's leading short story writer of the 20th-century. [2] [3] Writing in the Manchester Evening News in November 1944, George Orwell praised Urquhart's "remarkable gift for constructing neat stories with convincing dialogue." [4]
Urquhart was born in Edinburgh. [2] His father was chauffeur to wealthy Scottish families, including the Marquess of Breadalbane at Taymouth Castle. [5] He spent much of his childhood in Fife, Perthshire and Wigtownshire. [1] He attended village schools, followed by Stranraer High School and Broughton Secondary School. [5] [2]
On leaving school at the age of fifteen, he worked in a bookshop from 1927 to 1934. [3] [2] Because he was a pacifist and conscientious objector, during World War II, he worked on the land at Laurencekirk in the Mearns and later at Woburn Abbey. [3] [5] [1] On visits to London, where he later lived, he met George Orwell and the Scottish painters Robert Colquhoun and Robert MacBryde. [3]
In 1936, Urquhart published his first short story, followed by his first novel Time Will Knit in 1938. [2] [5] He went on to publish four novels and more eight volumes of short stories. [2] [3] The novel Jezebel's Dust (1951) is considered one of his best works. [1] Many of his stories were read on the radio. [3] Palace of Green Days was a Book at Bedtime in 1985. [6] [3]
Many of his stories revolved around rural life, set in the fictional town of Auchencairn in the Mearns countryside south of Aberdeen. [1] [2] The theme of many of these stories was a desire to escape the drudgery of every-day working-class life. [2] One of these stories, "The Ploughing Match," won the Tom–Gallon Trust Award for 1951. [2]
He also wrote many stories about violence against women and was known for the way he sensitively portrayed women. [2] [1] [5] Compton Mackenzie said Urquhart had a "remarkable talent for depicting women young and old." [2] "We Never Died in Winter" is considered a good example of one of his stories about working-class girls. [2]
In the 1960s, he published several volumes of short stories with historical and supernatural themes. [2] One obituarist said, "His skill was to show characters in everyday, conversational action".
Starting in 1947, Urquhart worked as a reader for a literary agency in London until 1951., [2] From 1951 to 1954 he read scripts for Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer. [5] From 1951 to 1974 he was a reader for Cassell and Company in London. [5] [2] He was a London scout for Walt Disney Productions from 1959 to 1960. [2] From 1967 to 1971, he was a reader for J. M. Dent and Sons in London. [5] [2]
He had a particular love of horses and edited illustrated anthology The Book of Horses in 1981. [1] He also edited a number of books and wrote reviews for magazines and newspapers. [3]
Urquhart was homosexual. [1] He moved to Ashdown Forest in East Sussex in 1958 with his companion, the dancer Peter Wyndham Allen, but when Wyndham Allen died in 1990 Urquhart moved back to Scotland. [1] He was a friend of Rhys Davies, with whom he shared a cottage in Tring in 1946, [7] and of Norah Hoult. [8]
Urquhart died in Haddington, East Lothian at the age of 83. [5]
Fred Urquhart | |
---|---|
Born | Frederick Burrows Urquhart 12 July 1912 Edinburgh, Scotland |
Died | 2 December 1995 Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland | (aged 83)
Occupation | writer, reviewer, editor |
Genre | Short Story |
Notable awards | Tom-Gallon Trust Award |
Partner | Peter Wyndham Allen |
Fred Urquhart or Frederick Burrows Urquhart (12 July 1912 – 2 December 1995) was a Scottish short story writer, novelist, editor and reviewer. [1] He is considered Scotland's leading short story writer of the 20th-century. [2] [3] Writing in the Manchester Evening News in November 1944, George Orwell praised Urquhart's "remarkable gift for constructing neat stories with convincing dialogue." [4]
Urquhart was born in Edinburgh. [2] His father was chauffeur to wealthy Scottish families, including the Marquess of Breadalbane at Taymouth Castle. [5] He spent much of his childhood in Fife, Perthshire and Wigtownshire. [1] He attended village schools, followed by Stranraer High School and Broughton Secondary School. [5] [2]
On leaving school at the age of fifteen, he worked in a bookshop from 1927 to 1934. [3] [2] Because he was a pacifist and conscientious objector, during World War II, he worked on the land at Laurencekirk in the Mearns and later at Woburn Abbey. [3] [5] [1] On visits to London, where he later lived, he met George Orwell and the Scottish painters Robert Colquhoun and Robert MacBryde. [3]
In 1936, Urquhart published his first short story, followed by his first novel Time Will Knit in 1938. [2] [5] He went on to publish four novels and more eight volumes of short stories. [2] [3] The novel Jezebel's Dust (1951) is considered one of his best works. [1] Many of his stories were read on the radio. [3] Palace of Green Days was a Book at Bedtime in 1985. [6] [3]
Many of his stories revolved around rural life, set in the fictional town of Auchencairn in the Mearns countryside south of Aberdeen. [1] [2] The theme of many of these stories was a desire to escape the drudgery of every-day working-class life. [2] One of these stories, "The Ploughing Match," won the Tom–Gallon Trust Award for 1951. [2]
He also wrote many stories about violence against women and was known for the way he sensitively portrayed women. [2] [1] [5] Compton Mackenzie said Urquhart had a "remarkable talent for depicting women young and old." [2] "We Never Died in Winter" is considered a good example of one of his stories about working-class girls. [2]
In the 1960s, he published several volumes of short stories with historical and supernatural themes. [2] One obituarist said, "His skill was to show characters in everyday, conversational action".
Starting in 1947, Urquhart worked as a reader for a literary agency in London until 1951., [2] From 1951 to 1954 he read scripts for Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer. [5] From 1951 to 1974 he was a reader for Cassell and Company in London. [5] [2] He was a London scout for Walt Disney Productions from 1959 to 1960. [2] From 1967 to 1971, he was a reader for J. M. Dent and Sons in London. [5] [2]
He had a particular love of horses and edited illustrated anthology The Book of Horses in 1981. [1] He also edited a number of books and wrote reviews for magazines and newspapers. [3]
Urquhart was homosexual. [1] He moved to Ashdown Forest in East Sussex in 1958 with his companion, the dancer Peter Wyndham Allen, but when Wyndham Allen died in 1990 Urquhart moved back to Scotland. [1] He was a friend of Rhys Davies, with whom he shared a cottage in Tring in 1946, [7] and of Norah Hoult. [8]
Urquhart died in Haddington, East Lothian at the age of 83. [5]