Robert Nye facts for kids

Robert Nye (born March 15, 1939 – died July 2, 2016) was an English poet and writer. He was known for his many books, including novels, poems, and stories for children. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL), which is a special honor for writers.

His most famous novel, Falstaff, came out in 1976. It was a very popular book and won two important awards: The Hawthornden Prize and the Guardian Fiction Prize. Another famous writer, Anthony Burgess, even included Falstaff in his list of the best novels written since 1939.

Early Life and First Steps

Robert Nye was born in London, England, in 1939. His father worked for the government, and his mother grew up on a farm. He went to Southend High School for Boys.

When he was just 16 years old, his first poem, "Kingfisher," was published in a magazine called London Magazine. He left school in 1955 and did not go to college.

Between 1955 and 1961, Robert Nye worked many different jobs. He was a newspaper reporter, a milkman, a postman, and even a worker in a garden. In 1959, he married his first wife, Judith Pratt. In 1961, they moved to a quiet cottage in north Wales. There, Nye spent all his time writing. He became very interested in old Welsh and Celtic stories. These ancient legends later inspired many of his books for both kids and adults.

Becoming a Writer

Robert Nye's first book, Juvenilia 1, was a collection of his poems published in 1961. His second poetry book, Juvenilia 2 (1963), won the Eric Gregory Award. Many people thought his early poems were very special and talented.

To help him keep writing poetry, Nye started reviewing books for newspapers. He became the poetry editor for The Scotsman newspaper in 1967. From 1971 to 1996, he was also the poetry critic for The Times. He also reviewed new novels for The Guardian.

Writing for Young Readers

Robert Nye started writing stories for children to entertain his three young sons. His children's novel Taliesin and a collection of stories called March Has Horse's Ears were both published in 1966.

In 1967, Nye published his first novel for adults, called Doubtfire. It was described as "brilliant" and full of amazing language. That same year, he and his first wife divorced. A year later, he married Aileen Campbell, who was an artist. She even drew pictures for one of his books, Bee Hunter: Adventures of Beowulf.

One of Nye's most popular children's books was his version of Beowulf, a very old English story. It was published in 1968 and has been printed many times since then. In 1970, he released another children's book, Wishing Gold. He also won the James Kennaway Memorial Award for his short story collection, Tales I Told My Mother (1969).

Later Career and Achievements

In the early 1970s, Robert Nye wrote several plays for BBC radio. He also worked on an opera called Kronia for the Royal Opera House. From 1976 to 1977, he was a writer-in-residence at the University of Edinburgh. During this time, he won the Guardian Fiction Prize and the Hawthornden Prize for his novel Falstaff.

In 1978, Nye published Merlin, a novel based on the famous wizard from the King Arthur legends. Another important novel was The Life and Death of My Lord Gilles de Rais, published in 1990. Many people believe this book is one of his best works.

Robert Nye continued to write poetry throughout his life. His book Collected Poems came out in 1995. In 2005, his selected poems, The Rain and The Glass, won the Cholmondeley Award. His last poetry collection, An Almost Dancer, was published in 2012. From 1977, he lived in County Cork, Ireland. Even though his novels won awards and were translated into many languages, he might have preferred to be remembered most as a poet.

Selected Works

Here are some of Robert Nye's books:

Poetry

• Juvenilia 1 (1961)
• Juvenilia 2 (1963)
• Darker Ends (1969)
• Divisions on a Ground (1976)
• Collected Poems (1996)
• The Rain and the Glass: 99 Poems, New and Selected (2005)
• An Almost Dancer: Poems 2005-11 (2012)

Novels

• Doubtfire (1967)
• Falstaff (1976)
• Merlin (1978)
• Faust (1980)
• The Life and Death of My Lord Gilles de Rais (1990)
• Mrs. Shakespeare: The Complete Works (1993)

Stories for Children

• March Has Horse's Ears (1966)
• Taliesin (1966)
• Beowulf: A New Telling (1968)
• Wishing Gold (1970)
• Poor Pumpkin (1971)
• Once Upon Three Times (1978)
• The Bird of the Golden Land (1980)
• Harry Pay the Pirate (1981)