J. G. Farrell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
J. G. Farrell
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| Born | James Gordon Farrell 25 January 1935 Liverpool, England |
| Died | 11 August 1979 (aged 44) Bantry Bay, County Cork, Ireland |
| Resting place | St James the Apostle Church, Durrus, County Cork |
| Education | Rossall School |
| Alma mater | Brasenose College, Oxford |
| Period | 1963–1979 |
| Genre | Novel |
| Subject | Colonialism |
| Notable works | Troubles, The Siege of Krishnapur |
| Notable awards | Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize; Booker Prize (twice) |
James Gordon Farrell (born January 25, 1935 – died August 11, 1979) was a famous novelist from England. He is best known for his series of books called "the Empire Trilogy." These books explore the effects of British colonial rule on people and countries.
His book Troubles won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize in 1971. The Siege of Krishnapur won the Booker Prize in 1973, which is a very important award for books. In 2010, Troubles also won the Lost Man Booker Prize. This special award was given to books from 1970 that couldn't be considered for the main prize at the time.
Contents
About J. G. Farrell
His Early Life and School
James Gordon Farrell was born in Liverpool, England. His family had Irish roots. He was the second of three brothers. His father, William Farrell, worked as an accountant in India.
When he was 12, James went to Rossall School in Lancashire. After World War II, his family moved to Dublin, Ireland. He spent a lot of time in Ireland, which is why some people think of him as an Irish writer.
After school, he taught in Dublin. He also worked for a while in the cold Canadian Arctic. In 1956, he went to Brasenose College, Oxford to study. While there, he got polio, a serious illness. This left him partly disabled, and the idea of disease often appeared in his books.
In 1960, he finished his studies at Oxford. He then moved to France, where he taught at a school called a lycée.
His First Books
Farrell published his first book, A Man From Elsewhere, in 1963. It was set in France and showed the influence of French ideas about life. The story was about a journalist trying to find secrets about a dying writer. Farrell later didn't like this book very much.
Two years later, in 1965, he released The Lung. This book was inspired by his own experience with polio. The main character, Martin Sands, gets polio and has to stay in the hospital for a long time.
In 1967, Farrell published A Girl in the Head. This book was about a poor Polish count living in a fictional English seaside town. Like his first two books, it didn't become very famous.
The Empire Trilogy: His Famous Stories
Farrell's most famous books are part of his "Empire Trilogy." These stories explore the end of British colonial power.
His book Troubles tells a funny but sad story. It's about an Englishman, Major Brendan Archer, who goes to Ireland in 1919. He stays at a crumbling hotel and watches Ireland fight for its freedom from Britain. Farrell got the idea for the hotel setting from seeing the remains of an old burned-down hotel.
After Troubles won an award, Farrell used the money to travel to India. This trip helped him research his next book, The Siege of Krishnapur. This novel is about the Indian Rebellion of 1857. It tells the story of a British army group stuck in a town called Krishnapur. They fight for four months against local soldiers before help arrives.
The third book in the trilogy is The Singapore Grip. This story is about the Japanese army taking over the British city of Singapore in 1942. It also looks at how colonialism worked and the money relationships between rich and developing countries.
These three books are connected by their themes about the British Empire. A character from Troubles, Major Archer, even appears again in The Singapore Grip. Farrell also started an unfinished novel, The Hill Station, which would have made the series a quartet.
When The Siege of Krishnapur won the Booker Prize in 1973, Farrell used his speech to talk about the prize's sponsors. He criticized their business activities in developing countries.
A film version of Troubles was made for British television in 1988.
His Sad Death
In 1979, J. G. Farrell decided to leave London and live in County Cork, Ireland. Just a few months later, he tragically drowned. He fell into the sea from rocks while fishing near Bantry Bay. He was only 44 years old.
The famous writer Salman Rushdie said in 2008 that if Farrell hadn't died so young, he would have been one of the most important English novelists. He said that the three novels Farrell left behind are "extraordinary."
Farrell is buried in the churchyard of St James the Apostle Church in Durrus, Ireland. His writings and notes are kept at the manuscript library at Trinity College, Dublin.
His Lasting Impact
Many people see J. G. Farrell's novels as important examples of post-colonial fiction. This means his books question and challenge the old stories about empires.
Another writer, Ronald Binns, said that Farrell's books about colonialism were "probably the most ambitious literary project" by any British novelist in the 1970s. This shows how important his work was.
His Books
- Early works
- A Man from Elsewhere (1963)
- The Lung (1965)
- A Girl in the Head (1967)
- Empire Trilogy
- Troubles (1970)
- The Siege of Krishnapur (1973)
- The Singapore Grip (1978)
- Published after his death
- 1973–74: The Pussycat Who Fell in Love with a Suitcase
- 1981: The Hill Station; and An Indian Diary, an unfinished book edited by John Spurling.
Awards He Won
- 1971: Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize (for Troubles)
- 1973: Booker Prize (for The Siege of Krishnapur)
- 2010: Lost Man Booker Prize (for Troubles, for the year 1970)
