Mordecai Richler facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mordecai Richler
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Pencil sketch of Mordecai Richler
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| Born | January 27, 1931 |
| Died | July 3, 2001 (aged 70) Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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| Resting place | Mount Royal Cemetery |
| Education | Baron Byng High School |
| Alma mater | Sir George Williams University |
| Occupation | Writer |
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Mordecai Richler CC (born January 27, 1931 – died July 3, 2001) was a famous Canadian writer. He wrote many novels, essays, and even books for children. His most well-known books are The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1959) and Barney's Version (1997).
Two of his novels, St. Urbain's Horseman (1970) and Solomon Gursky Was Here (1989), were nominated for the important Booker Prize. Mordecai Richler is also famous for his fun Jacob Two-Two fantasy series, which is especially for kids. Besides his stories, he wrote many essays about the Jewish community in Canada and about Canadian and Quebec nationalism. One of his essay collections, Oh Canada! Oh Quebec! (1992), caused some debate because it talked about nationalism and anti-Semitism.
Contents
About Mordecai Richler's Life
Early Years and Schooling
Mordecai Richler was born in Montreal, Quebec, on January 27, 1931. His parents were Lily and Moses Isaac Richler. He grew up on St. Urbain Street in a part of Montreal called Mile End. He could speak English, French, and Yiddish.
He went to Baron Byng High School. After high school, he started studying at Sir George Williams College (now Concordia University) but didn't finish his degree. Years later, his mother, Lily Richler, wrote a book about her life called The Errand Runner: Memoirs of a Rabbi's Daughter. This book shared details about Mordecai's childhood and their relationship.
When he was 19, Richler moved to Paris. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of other writers from the 1920s who had moved there, like the "Lost Generation" writers from the United States.
His Writing Journey
In 1952, Richler came back to Montreal and worked briefly at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Then, in 1954, he moved to London, England. He lived in London for many years and wrote seven of his ten novels there. He also wrote a lot of articles for newspapers and magazines.
Richler felt it was important to be close to his roots. So, in 1972, he moved back to Montreal. He often wrote about the English-speaking community in Montreal, especially his old neighborhood. He showed this area and its people in many of his novels.
Family Life
While in England, Mordecai Richler married Catherine Boudreau in 1954. Later, he met Florence Mann. Mordecai and Florence both ended their first marriages and then married each other. Mordecai adopted Florence's son, Daniel.
They had four more children together: Jacob, Noah, Martha, and Emma. These family events inspired his novel Barney's Version.
Mordecai Richler passed away from cancer on July 3, 2001, in Montreal. He was 70 years old.
Journalism and Essays
Throughout his career, Richler also wrote many articles and essays for different magazines. These included The Atlantic Monthly, Look, The New Yorker, and The American Spectator. Later in his life, he wrote columns for newspapers like The National Post and Montreal's The Gazette.
Richler often shared his opinions on Quebec and Canadian federalism. He also sometimes criticized the Canadian literary scene that received government support in the 1970s and 1980s. Writing for newspapers and magazines was an important part of his career. It helped him earn money between writing his novels and film scripts.
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
Richler published his fourth novel, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, in 1959. This book often explored a theme Richler loved: Jewish life in Montreal during the 1930s and 40s. He wrote about the neighborhood around St. Urbain Street and Saint Laurent Boulevard, which people called "The Main."
Richler described the area and its people, showing the challenges they faced as a Jewish minority. He wrote:
To a middle-class stranger, it is true, one street would have seemed as squalid as the next. On each corner a cigar store, a grocery, and a fruit man. Outside staircases everywhere. Winding ones, wooden ones, rusty and risky ones. Here a prized lot of grass splendidly barbered, there a spitefully weedy patch. An endless repetition of precious peeling balconies and waste lots making the occasional gap here and there.
After Duddy Kravitz was published, Richler became known as one of the most important writers of his time, according to The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature.
Richler's Works in Movies and TV
Many of Mordecai Richler's books and stories have been turned into movies, TV shows, and even musicals!
- St. Urbain's Horseman (1971) became a CBC television drama.
- In 1973, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz was made into a movie starring Richard Dreyfuss.
- The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz has also been adapted into a musical play several times (in 1984, 1987, and 2015).
- The animator Caroline Leaf created a short film called The Street (1976), based on Richler's short story. It was nominated for an Academy Award.
- His children's book Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang was made into a movie in 1978 and a TV movie in 1999.
- In 2003, Jacob Two-Two became an animated TV series.
- His novel Joshua Then and Now (1980) was adapted into a movie in 1985.
- Barney's Version was adapted for radio by the CBC in 2009 and then into a movie in 2010.
Awards and Special Recognition
Mordecai Richler received many awards for his writing:
- 1969 Governor General's Award for Cocksure and Hunting Tigers Under Glass.
- 1972 Governor General's Award for St. Urbain's Horseman.
- 1975 Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy screenplay for The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz.
- 1976 Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award for Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang.
- 1976 Ruth Schwartz Children's Book Award for Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang.
- 1990 Commonwealth Writers Prize for Solomon Gursky was Here.
- 1995 Mr. Christie's Book Award for Jacob Two-Two's First Spy Case.
- 1997 The Giller Prize for Barney's Version.
- 1998 Canadian Booksellers Associations "Author of the Year" award.
- 1998 Stephen Leacock Award for Humour for Barney's Version.
- 1998 Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book (Canada & Caribbean region) for Barney's Version.
- 1998 The QSPELL Award for Barney's Version.
- 2000 Honorary Doctorate of Letters from McGill University.
- 2000 Honorary Doctorate from Bishop's University.
- 2001 Companion of the Order of Canada (a very high honor in Canada).
- 2004 He was ranked 98th on the CBC's show The Greatest Canadian.
- 2004 Barney's Version was chosen for Canada Reads 2004.
- 2006 Cocksure was chosen for Canada Reads 2006.
- 2011 Richler received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.
- 2011 The City of Montreal named a gazebo in Mount Royal Park in his honor. This spot overlooks Jeanne-Mance Park, where he played as a child.
- 2015 Richler was named a "citizen of honour" in Montreal. The Mile End Library, in the neighborhood he wrote about in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, was named after him.
Books by Mordecai Richler
Novels for Older Readers
- The Acrobats (1954)
- Son of a Smaller Hero (1955)
- A Choice of Enemies (1957)
- The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1959)
- The Incomparable Atuk (1963)
- Cocksure (1968)
- St. Urbain's Horseman (1971)
- Joshua Then and Now (1980)
- Solomon Gursky Was Here (1989)
- Barney's Version (1997)
Short Story Collection
- The Street (1969)
Books for Children
- Jacob Two-Two series
- Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang (1975)
- Jacob Two-Two and the Dinosaur (1987)
- Jacob Two-Two's First Spy Case (1995)
Travel Books
- Images of Spain (1977)
- This Year in Jerusalem (1994)
Essays and Nonfiction
- Hunting Tigers Under Glass: Essays and Reports (1968)
- Shovelling Trouble (1972)
- Notes on an Endangered Species and Others (1974)
- The Great Comic Book Heroes and Other Essays (1978)
- Home Sweet Home: My Canadian Album (1984)
- Broadsides (1991)
- Oh Canada! Oh Quebec! Requiem for a Divided Country (1992)
- Belling the Cat (1998)
- On Snooker: The Game and the Characters Who Play It (2001)
- Dispatches from the Sporting Life (2002)
Books He Edited
- Canadian Writing Today (1970)
- The Best of Modern Humour (1986)
- Writers on World War II (1991)
Film Scripts Written or Co-Written
- Insomnia Is Good for You (1957)
- Dearth of a Salesman (1957)
- No Love for Johnnie (1962)
- Life at the Top (1965)
- The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974)
- The Street (1976)
- Fun with Dick and Jane (1977)
- The Wordsmith (1979)
- Joshua Then and Now (1985)
- Barney's Version (2010)
See also
- List of Quebec authors
- Jews in Montreal
