Hilary Spurling facts for kids

Susan Hilary Spurling, born on December 25, 1940, is a British writer. She is well-known for her work as a journalist and for writing biographies about famous people.

Early Life and Education

Susan Spurling was born in Stockport, a town in Cheshire, England. Her father, Gilbert Alexander Forrest, was a judge, and her mother, Emily Maureen, was a teacher.

Susan went to Clifton High School in Bristol, a private school. Later, she studied at Somerville College, Oxford, which is part of the famous Oxford University.

Writing Career

Susan Spurling is a very successful writer. In 2006, she won the important Whitbread Prize for her book about the famous artist Henri Matisse. This book was the second part of his life story.

Another one of her books, Burying The Bones: Pearl Buck in China, was published in 2010.

Personal Life

In 1961, Susan Spurling married John Spurling, who is a playwright. A playwright is someone who writes plays for the theater. Susan and John have three children named Amy, Nathaniel, and Gilbert.

Notable Works

Susan Spurling has written many interesting books, often focusing on the lives of other writers and artists. Here are some of her well-known works:

• Ivy When Young: The Early Life of Ivy Compton-Burnett 1884–1919 (1974)
• Invitation to the Dance: A Handbook to Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time (1977)
• Secrets of a Woman's Heart: The Later Life of Ivy Compton-Burnett 1920–1969 (1984)
• Elinor Fettiplace's Receipt Book: Elizabethan Country House Cooking (1986)
• Paul Scott: A Life (1990)
• Ivy: The Life of I. Compton-Burnett (1995; this book combines her two earlier books about Ivy Compton-Burnett)
• The Unknown Matisse: Volume 1 – A Life of Henri Matisse 1869–1908 (1998)
• La Grande Thérèse: The Greatest Swindle of the Century (1999) – this book is about Thérèse Humbert
• The Girl from the Fiction Department: A Portrait of Sonia Orwell (2002)
• Matisse the Master: The Conquest of Colour 1909–1954 (2005)
• Matisse: The Life (2009; this is a shorter version of her two earlier books about Matisse)
• Burying the Bones: Pearl Buck in China (2010)
• Anthony Powell: Dancing to the Music of Time (2017)

Awards and Recognition

Susan Spurling has received several important awards for her writing:

• In 1976, she won the Rose Mary Crawshay Prize for her book Ivy When Young: The Early Life of Ivy Compton-Burnett 1884–1919.
• In 1984, she received the Duff Cooper Prize for the same book.
• In 2005, her book Matisse the Master: The Conquest of Colour 1909–1954 won the Whitbread Book of the Year award.
• Also in 2005, she was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. This is a special honor for writers.
• In 2010, she won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for biography for her book Burying the Bones: Pearl Buck in China.