Christy Brown facts for kids

Christy Brown (5 June 1932 – 7 September 1981) was an Irish writer and painter whose cerebral palsy allowed him to write or type only with the toes of one foot. His most recognized work is his autobiography, titled Down All The Days (1954). It was later made into a 1989 Academy Award-winning film My Left Foot, starring Daniel Day-Lewis as Brown.

Life

Christy Brown was born into a working-class Irish family at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin in June 1932. His parents were Bridget Fagan (1901–1968) and Patrick Brown. He had twenty-two siblings, nine of whom died in infancy. He was born with severe cerebral palsy, so that he was almost entirely spastic in his limbs. Though urged to commit him to a hospital, Brown's parents were determined to raise him at home. During Brown's adolescence, a social worker began to visit regularly, bringing Christy books and painting materials, as he had shown a keen interest in the arts and literature. Christy learned to write and draw with his left leg, the only limb over which he had effective control. Brown quickly matured into a serious artist. Although Brown received almost no formal schooling during his youth, he did attend St Brendan's School-Clinic in Sandymount intermittently. At St Brendan's he came in contact with Robert Collis, an author. Collis discovered that Brown was also a natural novelist and, later, Collis helped use his own connections to publish My Left Foot, by then a long-gestating autobiographical account of Brown's struggle with everyday life amidst the vibrant culture of Dublin.

When My Left Foot became a literary sensation, one of the many people who wrote letters to Brown was married American woman Beth Moore. Brown and Moore became regular correspondents and, in 1960, Brown holidayed in North America and stayed with Moore at her home in Connecticut. Brown later journeyed to Connecticut once more to finish his magnum opus, which he had been developing for years. He finally did so in 1967 with help from Moore, who introduced and administered a strict working regimen. The book, titled Down All the Days, was published in 1970 and was inscribed with a dedication to Moore that read, "For Beth, who with such gentle ferocity, finally whipped me into finishing this book..." During this time, Brown's fame continued to spread internationally and he became a prominent celebrity. Upon his return to Ireland, he was able to use proceeds from the sales of his books to design and move into a specially constructed home outside Dublin with his sister's family. Brown married Englishwoman Mary Carr, whom he met at a party in London, at the Register Office, Dublin, in 1972. They moved to Stoney Lane, Rathcoole, County Dublin (now site of Lisheen Nursing Home), to Ballyheigue, County Kerry and then to Somerset. He continued to paint, write novels, poetry and plays. His 1974 novel, A Shadow on Summer, was based on his relationship with Moore, whom he still considered a friend.

Death

Brown's health deteriorated after marrying Carr. He became mainly a recluse in his last years, which is thought to be a direct result of Carr's influence. Brown died at the age of 49 after choking during dinner.

Literary legacy

Brown's magnum opus, Down All the Days was an ambitious project drawn largely from a playful expansion of My Left Foot; it also became an international best-seller, translated into 14 languages. The Irish Times reviewer Bernard Share claimed the work was "the most important Irish novel since Ulysses." Like James Joyce, Brown employed the stream-of-consciousness technique and sought to document Dublin's culture through the use of humour, accurate dialects and intricate character description. Down All the Days was followed by a series of other novels, including A Shadow on Summer (1972), Wild Grow the Lilies (1976) and A Promising Career (published posthumously in 1982). He also published three poetry collections: Come Softly to My Wake, Background Music and Of Snails and Skylarks. All the poems are included in The Collected Poems of Christy Brown.

Works

• 1954 My Left Foot
• 1970 Down All the Days
• 1971 Come Softly to My Wake (Poems of Christy Brown)
• 1973 Background Music: Poems of Christy Brown
• 1974 A Shadow on Summer
• 1976 Wild Grow the Lilies
• 1978 Of Snails And Skylarks
• 1982 A Promising Career (posthumous publication of his final work)
• 1991 The Collected Poems of Christy Brown (posthumous compilation of his three books of poetry)