Andrew Davies (writer) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Andrew Davies
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Davies in 2019
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| Born | Andrew Wynford Davies 20 September 1936 Rhiwbina, Cardiff, Wales |
| Occupation | Writer (TV and print) |
| Alma mater | University College London |
| Period | c. 1964–present (as a writer) |
| Genre | Audio and screenplays, novels |
| Notable works |
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| Notable awards | Guardian Prize 1979 BAFTA Fellow 2002 |
| Spouse |
Diana Huntley
(m. 1960) |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Thomas Duggan (Grandson) |
Andrew Wynford Davies was born on September 20, 1936. He is a famous writer from Wales. He writes for television and also writes books.
Andrew Davies is best known for turning classic books into popular TV shows. Some of his most famous adaptations include Pride and Prejudice, Middlemarch, and War & Peace. He also created the original TV series A Very Peculiar Practice. In 2002, he received a special award called a BAFTA Fellow for his amazing work.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Andrew Davies was born in Rhiwbina, a town in Cardiff, Wales. He went to Whitchurch Grammar School in Cardiff. Later, he studied English at University College, London, and earned his degree in 1957.
After college, he became a teacher. He taught at schools in London from 1958 to 1963. Then, he became a lecturer in English at Coventry College of Education and the University of Warwick.
In 1960, Andrew Davies married Diana Huntley. They have a son and a daughter. Today, he lives in Kenilworth, Warwickshire.
Andrew Davies: The Writer
Andrew Davies started writing plays for radio in 1964. His first TV play, Who's Going to Take Me On?, was shown in 1967. At first, he wrote plays while still working as a teacher and lecturer. Many of his early plays appeared in TV shows that featured different stories, like Thirty Minute Theatre and Play for Today.
One of his plays, Rose, was even performed on Broadway in New York City in 1981. His first time adapting a book for TV was To Serve Them All My Days in 1980. He also used his own experiences as a lecturer to create the comedy-drama series A Very Peculiar Practice (1986–88).
Famous TV Adaptations
Andrew Davies is especially famous for turning classic books into TV series. He has adapted many well-known stories, including:
- The Charles Dickens short story The Signalman (1976).
- Pride and Prejudice (1995), which starred Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.
- Vanity Fair (1998).
- Bleak House (2005).
- Sense and Sensibility (2008).
He also wrote the TV script for Middlemarch (1994). In 1996, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, which is a special honor for writers.
Other Notable Works
Andrew Davies also helped create the sitcom Game On for BBC2. He co-wrote the first two seasons of this show.
He adapted Michael Dobbs's political thriller House of Cards for TV. This show was so popular that Dobbs wrote two more books, which Davies also adapted. Davies won his first Emmy award for his writing on House of Cards.
In movies, he helped write the scripts for the first two Bridget Jones films. These movies were based on novels by Helen Fielding.
Writing for Children
Andrew Davies has written many books for children. His first children's novel was Conrad's War, published in 1978. This book won the annual Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. This award is given to the best children's book by an author who hasn't won it before.
He also wrote Alfonso Bonzo (both a book and a TV series). Another popular character he created is Marmalade Atkins, who appeared in a TV series and many books. He also wrote stories like Dark Towers and Badger Girl for the BBC TV show Look and Read, which was made for schools.
Recent Works
In 2008, Andrew Davies adapted several more novels for TV and film. These included Affinity by Sarah Waters, Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited (a film), and Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit (a BBC series). Little Dorrit won many awards, and Davies earned his second Emmy for his writing on the show.
His six-part adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's War & Peace was shown on BBC One in early 2016. After its success, the BBC announced that Davies would also write a six-part adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, which aired in 2018–2019.
In 2017, it was announced that Davies would adapt Vikram Seth's large novel A Suitable Boy into an eight-part TV series, which was released in 2020. He also adapted Sanditon in 2019.
Filmography
Andrew Davies has written for many TV shows and movies. Here are some of his works:
Television Series and Serials
- Eleanor Marx (1977)
- The Legend of King Arthur (1979)
- To Serve Them All My Days (1980–81)
- Dark Towers (Look and Read, 1981)
- Educating Marmalade (1982)
- Diana (1984)
- Badger Girl (Look and Read, 1984)
- Danger: Marmalade at Work (1984)
- A Very Peculiar Practice (1986–88)
- Mother Love (1989)
- House of Cards (1990)
- The Old Devils (1992)
- Anglo-Saxon Attitudes (1992)
- The Boot Street Band (1993–94)
- To Play the King (1993)
- Middlemarch (1994)
- Game On (with Bernadette Davis, 1995–98)
- Pride and Prejudice (1995)
- The Final Cut (1995)
- Wilderness (with Bernadette Davis, 1996)
- The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders (1996)
- Bill's New Frock (Book Box, 1998)
- Vanity Fair (1998)
- Wives and Daughters (1999)
- Take a Girl Like You (2000)
- The Way We Live Now (2001)
- Daniel Deronda (2002)
- Doctor Zhivago (2002)
- Tipping the Velvet (2002)
- He Knew He Was Right (2004)
- Bleak House (2005)
- The Line of Beauty (2006)
- The Diary of a Nobody (2007)
- Fanny Hill (2007)
- Sense and Sensibility (2008)
- Little Dorrit (2008)
- South Riding (2011)
- Mr Selfridge (2013–16)
- Quirke (2014)
- War & Peace (2016)
- Les Misérables (2018–19)
- Sanditon (2019)
- A Suitable Boy (2020)
Television Plays
- Who's Going to Take Me On? (The Wednesday Play, 1965)
- The Signalman (A Ghost Story for Christmas, 1976)
- Marmalade Atkins in Space (Theatre Box, 1981)
- Ball Trap on the Cote Sauvage (Screen One, 1989)
- Harnessing Peacocks (1993)
- Emma (1996)
- A Rather English Marriage (1998)
- Othello (2001)
- Boudica (2003)
- The Chatterley Affair (2006)
- Northanger Abbey (The Jane Austen Season, 2007)
- A Room with a View (2007)
- Affinity (2008)
Feature Films
- Consuming Passions (1988)
- Circle of Friends (1995)
- The Tailor of Panama (2001)
- Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
- Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004)
- Brideshead Revisited (2008)
- The Three Musketeers (2011)
Children's Books
- Conrad's War (Blackie and Son, 1978) — This book won the Guardian Prize.
- Marmalade and Rufus (1979) — Later called Marmalade Atkins' Dreadful Deeds.
- The Legend of King Arthur (Armada, 1979) — A book based on his BBC TV series.
- The Fantastic Feats of Doctor Boox
- Marmalade Atkins in Space (Abelard-Schuman, 1981)
- Educating Marmalade (Hamlyn, 1983)
- Danger! Marmalade at Work (Penguin, 1984)
- Marmalade Hits the Big Time (Thames/Magnet, 1984)
- Alfonso Bonzo (Methuen, 1986)
Novels for Adults
- A Very Peculiar Practice (Coronet, 1986) — A book based on the first TV series.
- A Very Peculiar Practice: The New Frontier (Methuen, 1988) — A book based on the second TV series.
- Getting Hurt (Methuen, 1989)
- Dirty Faxes (Methuen, 1990) — A collection of short stories.
- B. Monkey (Lime Tree, 1992) — This book was later made into a film.
Stage Plays
- Diary of a Desperate Woman (1979)
- Rose (1980)
- Prin (1990)
Picture Books for Children
Andrew and Diana Davies have also written picture books for younger children.
- Poonam's Pets (Methuen Children's, 1990), with pictures by Paul Dowling.
- Raj In Charge (Hamish Hamilton, 1994), with pictures by Debi Gliori.
