Andrea Levy facts for kids

Andrea Levy (born March 7, 1956 – died February 14, 2019) was an English writer. She is famous for her novels Small Island (2004) and The Long Song (2010). Andrea was born in London. Her parents came from Jamaica. Her books often explore what it means to be a British Jamaican. They look at how people deal with their race, culture, and national identity.

Early Life and Family

Andrea Levy's family mostly came from African-Jamaican backgrounds. Her grandfather on her father's side was Jewish. Her great-grandfather on her mother's side was Scottish.

She once shared that her Jewish grandfather fought in World War I. After the war, he became a Christian. He then married her grandmother. His family did not accept this, so Andrea did not know much about them.

Her father traveled to Britain in 1948 on a ship called the HMT Empire Windrush. Her mother followed him later that year.

Andrea was born in Archway, north London. She was the youngest of four children. She grew up in Highbury, also in north London. Her childhood was typical of a working-class family. She went to Highbury Hill Grammar School. Later, she studied textile design and weaving at Middlesex Polytechnic.

Becoming a Writer

Andrea Levy first worked as a costume assistant. She worked part-time for the BBC and the Royal Opera House. At the same time, she started a graphic design company with her husband, Bill Mayblin.

During this time, she started to think deeply about her identity. She realized how important her gender and race were. She found it hard to choose between being "white" or "black" in a group discussion. This made her see things differently.

Andrea had not read many books until she was 23. After this experience, she started reading a lot. She found many books by Black writers from the United States. But she found very few by Black writers in the United Kingdom. This made her want to tell stories from a Black British point of view.

Levy began writing in her mid-30s, after her father passed away. She wanted to understand her family's history and where she came from. In 1989, she joined a creative writing class. She continued with this class for seven years.

It was not easy for Andrea to get her first book published. Many publishers were unsure how to sell her writing. They thought her books were only about race. They worried that only Black readers would be interested. But Andrea Levy showed them they were wrong. She proved that stories about migration and Black British experiences could be popular with many readers.

Her Famous Books

In 1994, Andrea Levy's first novel, Every Light in the House Burnin', was published. It was partly based on her own life. Critics liked it. This book was about a young girl in the 1960s in north London. She was the child of Jamaican immigrants.

Her second novel, Never Far from Nowhere (1996), was about two sisters. They were of Jamaican background. They grew up in Finsbury Park, London, in the 1970s. This book was considered for the Orange Prize.

After this, Levy visited Jamaica for the first time. What she learned about her family's past helped her write her next book. This was Fruit of the Lemon (1999). This novel takes place in England and Jamaica. It shows the differences between Jamaicans living in Jamaica and their descendants in Britain.

Levy's fourth novel, Small Island (2004), became very popular. It tells the story of the Windrush generation. These were people who came to Britain from the Caribbean after World War II. The book explores how the war and migration changed their lives. Andrea Levy said she wanted to tell this shared story from both Black and white viewpoints. Small Island won several awards. These included the Whitbread Book of the Year and the Orange Prize. It was also made into a TV show by the BBC in 2009. A play based on the book opened in 2019.

Her fifth and last novel was The Long Song. It won the 2011 Walter Scott Prize. It was also shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2010. Critics praised the book. It was later made into a three-part TV series by BBC One in 2018.

In 2014, she published a short book called Six Stories and an Essay. It included a story about her own life and other short stories. Andrea Levy also contributed to the 2019 book New Daughters of Africa.

A writer named Bonnie Greer said that Andrea Levy's work showed how important Caribbean people are to the UK. She called Andrea Levy "immortal."

Legacy and Recognition

Documentary Film

In December 2018, a film about Andrea Levy was shown. It was called "Andrea Levy: Her Island Story." It was part of the BBC One TV series Imagine.

Radio Program

In February 2020, a radio program called "Andrea Levy: In Her Own Words" was broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It used an interview Andrea gave in 2014. She had asked for the interview to be released only after her death.

Literary Archive

In February 2020, it was announced that the British Library had bought Andrea Levy's writings. This collection includes her notebooks, research, letters, emails, and audio recordings.

Commemorative Plaque

A special Heritage Plaque was put up in March 2020. It is on Andrea Levy's childhood home in Highbury, London. This plaque honors her memory.

Royal Society of Literature Pen Collection

In November 2020, it was announced that Andrea Levy's pen would join a special collection. This collection belongs to the Royal Society of Literature. It includes pens from famous writers like George Eliot. Andrea Levy is the first writer of color to have her pen added to this collection.

Personal Life and Death

Grave of Andrea Levy in Highgate Cemetery

Andrea Levy was married to Bill Mayblin. She passed away on February 14, 2019. She was 62 years old. She had been living with metastatic breast cancer for 15 years. Her ashes were buried in Highgate Cemetery.

Awards and Honours

• 2004: Orange Prize for Fiction, winner, Small Island
• 2004: Whitbread Book of the Year, winner, Small Island
• 2005: Commonwealth Writers Prize, winner, Small Island
• 2005: Became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
• 2010: Man Booker Prize, shortlisted, The Long Song
• 2011: Walter Scott Prize (for The Long Song)
• 2012: Honorary Fellowship from Queen Mary University of London

See also

In Spanish: Andrea Levy (escritora) para niños