Penelope Lively facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Penelope Lively
DBE FRSL
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Lively in 2013
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| Born | Penelope Margaret Low 17 March 1933 Cairo, Egypt |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | St Anne's College, Oxford |
| Period | 1970–present |
| Genre | Novels, short stories, children's fiction (notably contemporary fantasy) |
| Notable awards | Carnegie Medal 1973 Booker Prize 1987 |
| Spouse |
Jack Lively
(m. 1957; died 1998) |
| Children | 2, including Adam Lively |
| Relatives | Valentine Low (half-brother) Rachel Reckitt (aunt) |
Dame Penelope Margaret Lively (born Penelope Low on March 17, 1933) is a famous British writer. She writes exciting stories for both kids and adults. Penelope Lively has won two major awards: the Booker Prize for her adult novel Moon Tiger in 1987, and the Carnegie Medal for her children's book The Ghost of Thomas Kempe in 1973.
Contents
Books for Young Readers
Penelope Lively first became well-known for her children's books. Her very first book, Astercote, came out in 1970. It's a fantasy story set in a village in the Cotswolds region of England. The story involves a nearby forest where a medieval village once stood, which was wiped out by the Plague.
She wrote more than twenty books for children. Two of her most famous children's books are The Ghost of Thomas Kempe and A Stitch in Time. The Ghost of Thomas Kempe won the 1973 Carnegie Medal, which is a big award for the best children's book by a British writer. A Stitch in Time won the Whitbread Children's Book Award in 1976. These three books often explore local history from hundreds of years ago. They make it feel like characters are almost traveling through time, even though they don't actually go to the past.
Books for Adults
Penelope Lively's first novel for adults, The Road to Lichfield, was published in 1977. It was chosen as a finalist for the Booker Prize. She was a finalist again in 1984 with According to Mark. In 1987, she won the Booker Prize for her book Moon Tiger. This novel tells the story of a woman's adventurous life as she remembers it while in a hospital.
In her books, Penelope Lively often writes about how important memories are. She explores how the past affects the present and how personal stories can be different from official history. She also wrote non-fiction books, like A House Unlocked (2001) and Oleander, Jacaranda: A Childhood Perceived (1994). This last book is about her own childhood growing up in Egypt. Her most recent non-fiction book, Ammonites & Leaping Fish: A Life in Time, came out in 2013.
Besides novels and short stories, Penelope Lively has also written scripts for radio and television. She has hosted a radio show and written articles for newspapers and magazines.
About Her Life
Penelope Lively married Jack Lively, who was a professor, in 1957. They had a son and a daughter. Her husband passed away in 1998. She lives in London today. Her home is filled with interesting things like paintings, woodcuts, and ancient Egyptian pottery pieces.
The journalist Valentine Low is her half-brother.
Awards and Recognition
Penelope Lively is a member of the Royal Society of Literature, which is a group for important writers. She is also a vice-president of the Friends of the British Library. She has received several honors from the British Empire for her contributions to literature. She was made an Officer (OBE) in 1989, a Commander (CBE) in 2001, and a Dame Commander (DBE) in 2012. Being a Dame Commander is a very high honor.
She was a finalist for the Booker Prize in 1977 and 1984. She won the Booker Prize in 1987 for her novel Moon Tiger.
List of Books
Children's Fiction
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Adult Fiction
Non-fiction
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See also
In Spanish: Penelope Lively para niños
