Anthony Powell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anthony Powell
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Powell in 1934
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| Born | Anthony Dymoke Powell 21 December 1905 London, England |
| Died | 28 March 2000 (aged 94) Whatley, Somerset, England |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Notable works | A Dance to the Music of Time |
| Spouse |
Lady Violet Pakenham
(m. 1934) |
| Children | 2, including Tristram |
Anthony Dymoke Powell (born 21 December 1905 – died 28 March 2000) was an English novelist. He is best known for his very long series of 12 books called A Dance to the Music of Time. These books were published between 1951 and 1975. This series is one of the longest novels ever written in English.
Powell's main work has always been available to buy. It has also been made into TV shows and radio plays. In 2008, The Times newspaper listed Powell as one of the "50 greatest British writers since 1945."
Contents
About Anthony Powell
His Early Life and Education
Anthony Powell was born in Westminster, Middlesex, England. His father, Philip Lionel William Powell, was a soldier in the Welch Regiment. His mother was Maud Mary. Because his father was in the army and because of the First World War, his family moved around a lot. Sometimes, Anthony and his mother lived apart from his father.
Powell went to a few different schools. He briefly attended Gibbs's day-school. Then he went to New Beacon School near Sevenoaks, which was popular with military families. In 1919, he passed an exam to get into Eton, a famous school. He started there in the autumn.
At Eton, he became good friends with Henry Yorke, who later became a famous writer known as Henry Green. Powell spent a lot of his free time at the Studio, where an art teacher helped him with his drawing skills and his interest in art. In 1922, he helped start the Eton Society of Arts. This group made a magazine called The Eton Candle.
In 1923, Powell went to Balliol College, Oxford, a university. He joined a club called the Hypocrites' Club. He also met Maurice Bowra, a young teacher at another college. During his third year, Powell lived outside the college with his friend Henry Yorke. He also traveled around Europe during his school breaks. He earned a third-class degree when he finished his studies.
Life in London and Marriage
After finishing university, Powell moved to London. He went to many formal parties and met new people. He became friends again with Evelyn Waugh, another writer he knew from Oxford. Waugh introduced him to the Gargoyle Club, where he met many artists and writers. He also got to know painters Nina Hamnett and Adrian Daintrey, and composer Constant Lambert.
In 1934, Anthony Powell married Lady Violet Pakenham. In 1952, they moved to a country house called The Chantry in Whatley, Somerset.
Military Service
In 1939, Powell joined the Welch Regiment when the Second World War began. He was stationed in Northern Ireland during the air raids in Belfast. Later, he worked in Military Intelligence. His job was to help foreign troops who were living in exile in Britain. He made sure they had what they needed and helped with their relations with the British army.
For his service in the army, he received two General Service medals. He also received the 1944 France and Germany Star for escorting a group of Allied military officials in November 1944. He also received awards from other countries, including the Order of the White Lion from Czechoslovakia and the Order of Leopold II from Belgium.
Later Life and Honors
Powell received several honors for his work. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1956. In 1973, he was offered a knighthood but he turned it down. In 1988, he was made a Companion of Honour (CH).
He also served as a trustee for the National Portrait Gallery from 1962 to 1976. He traveled to many countries with his wife, including the United States, India, and Italy.
In his later years, Powell's health declined after he had several strokes. He died on 28 March 2000, at his home, The Chantry, when he was 94 years old.
His Writing Career
Early Works and War Service
After university, Powell started working in London in 1926. He worked at a publishing company called Gerald Duckworth and Company for a few years. He then worked as a scriptwriter for Warner Bros. studio for six months. In 1937, he tried to find work as a screenwriter in Hollywood but it didn't work out. He then started reviewing novels for The Daily Telegraph and memoirs for The Spectator.
Powell's first novel, Afternoon Men, was published in 1931. He wrote four more novels before the Second World War. One of them, What's Become of Waring, was published in 1939.
When the war started, Powell joined the British Army. He was 34 years old, older than most new officers. He was trained to help with military government after the war. He eventually joined the Intelligence Corps. He worked at the War Office, dealing with foreign armies in exile, such as the Czech, Belgian, and French forces.
A Dance to the Music of Time
After the war, Powell became a full-time writer. He started planning a very long series of novels. Over the next 30 years, he wrote his most famous work: A Dance to the Music of Time. This series has 12 novels. Many critics and writers, like Evelyn Waugh and Kingsley Amis, have praised it as one of the best English novels of the 20th century.
The story is told by a character who has experiences similar to Powell's own. It shows a lively picture of life in high society and artistic circles between 1921 and 1971. The title of the series comes from a famous painting by Poussin. The characters in the books appear, disappear, and then show up again throughout the series, just like people do in real life.
Powell received awards for his books. He won the 1957 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for the fourth book, At Lady Molly's. The eleventh book, Temporary Kings, won the W. H. Smith Prize in 1974.
Other Writings and Reviews
While writing his novels, Powell also worked as a main reviewer for the Times Literary Supplement. He was the literary editor for Punch from 1953 to 1959. From 1958 to 1990, he regularly reviewed books for The Daily Telegraph.
He also published two more novels later in his life: O, How the Wheel Becomes It! (1983) and The Fisher King (1986). He collected many of his book reviews into two books of essays. He also published several volumes of his personal Journals and memoirs called To Keep the Ball Rolling.
The author Alan Furst said that Powell taught him how to write. He noted that Powell's dialogue was amazing, often short and perfect, with each character using just a few words.
Family Life
Anthony Powell married Lady Violet Pakenham on 1 December 1934. She was the sister of Lord Longford. Powell and his wife lived in London for 17 years. Their first son, Tristram, was born in April 1940. Powell and his wife spent most of the war years apart because he was serving in the army. Their second son, John, was born in January 1946.
In 2018, Powell's granddaughter Georgia Powell married Henry Somerset, 12th Duke of Beaufort.
Recognition
The Dance series was made into a TV miniseries in 1997 by Hugh Whitemore. It was shown in the UK on Channel 4. The novel series was also made into a 26-part radio series for BBC Radio 4 between 1978 and 1981. A second radio version was broadcast in 2008.
To celebrate 100 years since Powell's birth, an exhibition about his life and work was held at the Wallace Collection in London from November 2005 to February 2006. Smaller exhibitions were also held at Eton College, Cambridge University, and other places.
In 1995, he received an honorary degree from the University of Bath. Hilary Spurling, a newspaper colleague, wrote a guide to Powell's Dance to the Music of Time in 1977. She also published his biography in 2017.
See also
In Spanish: Anthony Powell para niños
