Pat Barker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dame Pat Barker
|
|
|---|---|
Pat Barker in October 2012
|
|
| Born | Patricia Mary W. Drake 8 May 1943 Thornaby-on-Tees, North Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Alma mater | London School of Economics |
| Subject | Memory, trauma, survival, recovery |
| Notable works | Regeneration Trilogy |
| Notable awards | Booker Prize, Guardian First Book Award |
| Spouse | David Barker |
| Children | 2 |
Dame Patricia Mary W. Barker (born May 8, 1943) is a famous English writer. She has won many awards for her novels. Her stories often explore themes like memory, difficult experiences, and how people recover. She is well-known for her Regeneration Trilogy, published in the 1990s. More recently, she has written a series of books set during the Trojan War, starting with The Silence of the Girls in 2018.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Patricia Mary W. Drake was born on May 8, 1943. She grew up in a working-class family in Thornaby-on-Tees, England. Her mother, Moyra, passed away in 2000. For a time, Pat lived with her grandmother Alice and step-grandfather William. Her mother later married and moved out when Pat was seven.
Pat chose to stay with her grandmother. She loved her grandmother very much. Her grandparents ran a fish and chip shop. The family was very poor during this time.
When she was eleven, Pat earned a place at a grammar school. She attended King James's School, Knaresborough and Grangefield School. Pat has always loved reading.
From 1962 to 1965, she studied international history. She attended the London School of Economics. After graduating in 1965, she returned home. She cared for her grandmother, who passed away in 1971.
Pat Barker's Writing Career
Early Novels
Pat Barker started writing fiction in her mid-twenties. Her first three novels were not published. She felt they were not truly her style. She wanted to write with more honesty and grit.
Her first published novel was Union Street (1982). This book tells seven connected stories. They are about working-class women in England. Their lives are often difficult due to poverty. For ten years, publishers rejected the book. They thought it was too sad.
Barker met the novelist Angela Carter at a writing workshop. Carter liked Union Street a lot. She suggested Barker send it to Virago, a feminist publisher. Virago accepted the book. Critics praised Union Street as a powerful story. The New York Times Book Review said Barker showed great writing power.
Union Street was later made into a Hollywood film. It was called Stanley & Iris (1990). The film starred Robert De Niro and Jane Fonda. Barker has said the movie is very different from her book. As of 2003, Union Street was still one of Virago's best-selling books.
Barker's first three published novels focused on working-class women. These included Union Street (1982), Blow Your House Down (1984), and Liza's England (1986). BookForum magazine described them as full of emotion. They were also seen as honest and never overly dramatic. Blow Your House Down is about women in a northern English city. Liza's England follows a working-class woman's life.
The Regeneration Trilogy
After Liza's England, Barker wanted to write about new topics. She felt she was being labeled too much. People saw her only as a "northern, working-class, feminist novelist." She wanted to show she could write about other things. She also wanted to write about male characters.
So, she decided to write about the First World War. Her step-grandfather had fought in this war. He was wounded and never spoke about it. This inspired her. She wrote the Regeneration Trilogy. This series includes Regeneration (1991), The Eye in the Door (1993), and The Ghost Road (1995).
These novels explore the effects of war trauma. They mix history with fiction. Barker used writings from First World War poets. She also used the work of W. H. R. Rivers. He was an army doctor who helped soldiers with trauma.
The main characters are based on real people. These include Robert Graves and Alice Wheeldon. However, Billy Prior is a made-up character. He helps to show the experiences of soldiers like Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. Billy Prior appears in all three books.
Barker believes historical novels can help us understand today's problems. She said they can be "a backdoor into the present." This allows readers to think about issues without immediate judgment.
The Regeneration Trilogy was very popular with critics. Peter Kemp called it "brilliant, intense and subtle." Publishers Weekly said it was "a triumph." The New York Times described it as a deep look at war's horrors. Novelist Jonathan Coe called it "one of the few real masterpieces" of British fiction. In 1995, the final book, The Ghost Road, won the prestigious Booker–McConnell Prize.
Awards and Recognition
Pat Barker has received many honors for her writing. In 1983, she won the Fawcett Society prize for Union Street. She won the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1993 for The Eye in the Door. In 1995, she won the Booker Prize for The Ghost Road.
The Open University gave her an honorary doctorate in May 1997. She became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1995. In 2000, she was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).
Critics often praise her direct and honest writing style. The Guardian noted that her books offer "plain truths" and strong storylines. The Independent called her a great writer of both war and human nature.
In 2019, Barker was a finalist for the Women's Prize for Fiction. This was for her novel The Silence of the Girls. The Times called this book "Chilling, powerful, audacious." It was seen as a strong new take on The Iliad. The Guardian described it as an "important, powerful, memorable book."
In July 2024, Barker was elected as an honorary Fellow of the British Academy.
Personal Life
In 1969, Pat Barker met David Barker. He was a zoology professor. They had two children together. They married in 1978. Pat became a widow when her husband passed away in January 2009. Their daughter, Anna Barker Ralph, is also a novelist.
List of Works
Regeneration Trilogy
- Regeneration (1991)
- The Eye in the Door (1993)
- The Ghost Road (1995)
Trojan Wars Series
- The Silence of the Girls (2018)
- The Women of Troy (2021)
- The Voyage Home (2024)
Standalone Novels
- Union Street (1982)
- Blow Your House Down (1984)
- The Century's Daughter (also known as Liza's England; 1986)
- The Man Who Wasn't There (1988)
- Another World (1998)
- Border Crossing (2001)
- Double Vision (2003)
- Life Class (2007)
- Toby's Room (2012)
- Noonday (2015)
See also
In Spanish: Pat Barker para niños
