Alan Garner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alan Garner
OBE FRSL
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Garner in 2011
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| Born | 17 October 1934 Congleton, Cheshire, England |
| Occupation | Writer, folklorist |
| Period | 1960–present |
| Genre | Children's fantasy, low fantasy, folklore |
| Notable works | |
| Notable awards | Carnegie Medal 1967 Guardian Prize 1968 |
| Spouse | Griselda Garner (m. 1972) |
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Alan Garner (born 17 October 1934) is a famous English writer. He is best known for his exciting children's fantasy novels. He also retells old British folk tales. Much of his work is inspired by the beautiful landscapes, long history, and old stories of his home county, Cheshire, in North West England. His books are often set there and sometimes use the local Cheshire dialect.
Garner was born in Congleton and grew up in Alderley Edge. He spent a lot of time in a wooded area called "The Edge." This is where he first became interested in the local folklore. After studying at Manchester Grammar School and briefly at Oxford University, he moved to Blackden in 1957. He bought and fixed up an old building from around 1590 called Toad Hall.
His first novel, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, came out in 1960. It was a fantasy story for children set on the Edge. It used many local folk tales in its plot and characters. Garner later wrote a sequel, The Moon of Gomrath (1963), and a third book, Boneland (2012). He also wrote other fantasy novels like Elidor (1965), The Owl Service (1967), and Red Shift (1973).
Later, Garner wrote The Stone Book Quartet (1979). This was a series of four short stories. They showed a day in the life of children from four different generations of his own family. He also published books of British folk tales that he had rewritten. These included Alan Garner's Fairy Tales of Gold (1979) and Alan Garner's Book of British Fairy Tales (1984). In his later novels, Strandloper (1996) and Thursbitch (2003), he continued to write stories about Cheshire. These books, however, did not have the fantasy elements of his earlier work.
Contents
Biography
Early Life: 1934–56
Alan Garner was born in Congleton, Cheshire, on 17 October 1934. He grew up in Alderley Edge, a village near Manchester. His family had lived in Alderley Edge for a very long time, since at least the 1500s. Garner says his family passed down "a genuine oral tradition" of folk tales about The Edge. These stories included one about a king and his knights sleeping under the hill, guarded by a wizard. In the mid-1800s, Alan's great-great-grandfather, Robert, carved a wizard's face into a cliff near a well, known as the Wizard's Well.
Garner's family members were all skilled craftspeople. His grandfather, Joseph Garner, taught him the folk tales about The Edge. Alan felt the "magic" of the Edge as a child. He and his friends often played there. The story of the king and wizard under the hill was very important to him. It deeply influenced his later novels.
As a child, Garner had several serious illnesses. This meant he spent a lot of time in bed. He went to a local village school. There, he was praised for being smart but punished for speaking in his local Cheshire dialect. For example, when he was six, his teacher washed his mouth out with soap.
Garner then earned a place at Manchester Grammar School. His school fees were waived because his family didn't have much money. He was very good at sprinting there. He even claimed that the famous mathematician Alan Turing sometimes jogged with him. Garner then joined the national service in the Royal Artillery.
Garner became very interested in the works of Aeschylus and Homer and the Ancient Greek language. He decided to study Classics at Magdalen College, Oxford. He was the first in his family to go to university. This made him feel a bit disconnected from his family. In 1955, he joined the university's theatre group. He played Mark Antony in a play by William Shakespeare. In August 1956, he decided he wanted to be a novelist. He left Oxford without finishing his degree. However, he felt that the strong study habits he learned at university helped him throughout his life.
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Moon of Gomrath: 1957–64
When he was 22, Alan Garner found an old cottage for sale in Blackden, seven miles from Alderley Edge. It was called Toad Hall. He borrowed money from a local group called the Oddfellow lodge to buy it in June 1957. He later bought the other half of the building and turned it back into one home.
Garner started writing his first novel, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen: A Tale of Alderley, in September 1956. He finished it at Toad Hall. The story is set in Alderley Edge. It's about two children, Susan and Colin, who go to live with their mother's old nursemaid, Bess, and her husband, Gowther Mossock. They find evil creatures called svart alfar in the old mines. These creatures want to capture them. The wizard Cadellin rescues them. He tells them that dark forces are looking for a powerful magic item, the "weirdstone of Brisingamen."
While writing, Garner tried to be a teacher but found he couldn't teach and write at the same time. So, he worked as a general labourer for four years. He was often unemployed during this time.
Garner sent his first novel to the publisher Collins. The head of the company, Sir William Collins, was looking for new fantasy novels. This was because J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings had been very successful. The Weirdstone of Brisingamen was published in 1960. It was a big success with both critics and readers. Many people said it showed what was possible in children's novels. However, Garner himself later called it "a fairly bad book" in 1968.
After his first book was published, Garner stopped being a labourer. He got a job as a freelance television reporter. He lived on a very small budget. He also started writing a sequel, The Moon of Gomrath. This book also follows Colin and Susan. Susan becomes possessed by a bad creature called the Brollachan. With the wizard Cadellin's help, the creature is removed. But Susan's soul goes to another dimension. Colin must find a way to bring it back. Garner later wrote a third book, Boneland, which came out in 2012.
Elidor, The Owl Service and Red Shift: 1964–73
In 1962, Garner started working on a radio play called Elidor. It later became a novel. Elidor is set in modern-day Manchester. It tells the story of four children who find a portal to a magical world called Elidor in an old church. In Elidor, a king asks them to help save four treasures from evil forces. The children succeed and bring the treasures back to Manchester. But the evil forces follow them.
Before writing Elidor, Garner saw a dinner service that could show pictures of either flowers or owls. This design inspired his fourth novel, The Owl Service. This story was greatly influenced by an old Welsh tale. It won the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. This book made people wonder if Garner should be called a children's writer. Many felt it was also suitable for adults.
It took Garner six years to write his next novel, Red Shift. The book has three love stories woven together. One is set in the present, one during the English Civil War, and one in ancient times. Some people found Red Shift a challenging book to read. Its main themes are about feeling alone and not being able to communicate. However, many readers found that reading it multiple times revealed it to be a very deep and realistic story.
The Stone Book Series and Folkloric Collections: 1974–94
From 1976 to 1978, Garner published four short novels. They are known as The Stone Book quartet. These books are The Stone Book, Granny Reardun, The Aimer Gate, and Tom Fobble's Day. Each book focuses on one day in the life of a child from a different generation of the Garner family.
Garner said that writing The Stone Book Quartet was "exhausting" but also the "most rewarding" thing he had done. He pays close attention to language in these books. He tries to capture the sound of the Cheshire way of speaking in modern English.
In 1981, a literary expert named Neil Philip wrote a book about Garner's novels called A Fine Anger. He said that The Stone Book quartet was a turning point in Garner's writing career.
Later Works: 1996–Present
In 1996, Garner's novel Strandloper was published.
In 1997, he wrote The Voice That Thunders. This book is a collection of essays and talks. It includes stories about his own life, including his personal health challenges. It also shares his thoughts on folklore, language, and stories. In this book, Garner explained that he felt pressure to write more popular books and sequels to his earlier works. But he felt that doing so would harm his artistic spirit.
Garner's novel Thursbitch was published in 2003.
The novel Boneland came out in 2012. It completed a story that began 50 years earlier with The Weirdstone of Brisingamen.
In August 2018, Garner published his first memoir, Where Shall We Run To?. It describes his childhood during the Second World War.
His novel Treacle Walker was published in October 2021. It was nominated for the 2022 Booker Prize. This made Garner the oldest writer to be nominated at that time.
In October 2024, just before his 90th birthday, Garner published another memoir, Powsels and Thrums. This book was inspired by his grandfather. It contains short essays about different people and events in Garner's life.
Personal Life
Alan Garner has three children with his first wife, Ann Cook. In 1972, he married Griselda Greaves, who was a teacher and critic. They have two children together. Garner has said that he doesn't spend much time with other writers. He prefers to be friends with professional archaeologists.
Literary Style
Even though Garner's early books are often called "children's literature," he says he never wrote just for children. He always wrote for himself. Neil Philip, who studied Garner's work, said that Garner's books are enjoyed by certain types of people, no matter their age. He felt that an adult's view might not be as fresh as a child's view. Children are still discovering the world, while many adults are not.
Philip believed that Garner's main goal was to make complex ideas simple and clear. He also said that Garner's work is very personal. It uses symbols from myths and folklore to explore feelings and ideas of the 20th century. Philip also noted that "Time" is a very common theme in Garner's stories.
Another writer, Catherine Butler, said that Garner pays close attention to the history of the places in his books. He makes sure his stories fit with the real world. For example, he included maps of Alderley Edge in The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Moon of Gomrath. Garner spends a lot of time researching the areas he writes about. He once said that to write Elidor, he had to read many textbooks and visit famous places.
Recognition and Legacy
Maria Nikolajeva, an expert in children's literature, called Garner "one of the most controversial" modern children's authors.
In 2010, for the 50th anniversary of The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, many famous British fantasy writers praised Garner. Susan Cooper said his talent grew with every book. David Almond called him one of Britain's "greatest writers." Philip Pullman, who wrote the His Dark Materials trilogy, said Garner is the most important British fantasy writer since J. R. R. Tolkien. He felt Garner was even better than Tolkien in many ways.
Another fantasy writer, Neil Gaiman, said Garner's stories were "smart and challenging." He said Garner's books showed how real English places could come alive with folklore. Nick Lake, an editor at HarperCollins, called Garner "one of the greatest and most influential writers this country has ever produced." Emma Donoghue remembered reading Red Shift as a teenager. She said it "shook me to my core" and made the past feel "terrifyingly real."
Awards
The Hans Christian Andersen Award is a very important award for children's book writers. Garner was a runner-up for this award in 1978.
He was given the OBE award in 2001 for his contributions to literature. He also received the Karl Edward Wagner Award in 2003 and the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2012. In 2011 and 2012, he received special honorary degrees from universities.
He has won several awards for his specific books:
- The Owl Service (1967) won both the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. In 2007, it was chosen as one of the top ten Carnegie Medal-winning books of all time.
- The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (1960) was added to the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award list in 1970. This meant it belonged on the same shelf as Alice in Wonderland.
- The Stone Book (1976) won the 1996 Phoenix Award. This award is for the best English children's book that didn't win a major award when it was first published.
- His novel Treacle Walker was shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize.
Television, Radio, and Other Adaptations
- The Weirdstone of Brisingamen was made into a 6-part radio play for BBC in 1963.
- Elidor was read in parts on the BBC's Jackanory programme in 1968.
- The Owl Service (1969) was a British TV series based on his novel.
- A second radio adaptation of Elidor was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1972.
- Red Shift (1978) was a BBC TV play.
- To Kill a King (1980) was part of a BBC series about supernatural themes.
- The Keeper (1983) was an episode of the ITV children's series Dramarama: Spooky.
- Garner helped adapt Elidor into a BBC children's television series in 1995.
- The Owl Service was adapted for the stage in 2004.
- Elidor was made into a 4-part radio play for BBC Radio 4 Extra in 2011.
Works
Novels
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Short Story Collections
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Other Books
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Images for kids
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Garner at his home in Blackden, 2011
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The Medicine House, an old building moved to Blackden by Garner.
See Also
In Spanish: Alan Garner para niños
