T. H. White facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
T. H. White
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White lecturing on his Arthurian fiction
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| Born | Terence Hanbury White 29 May 1906 Bombay, British India |
| Died | 17 January 1964 (aged 57) Piraeus, Athens, Greece |
| Nickname | Tim |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | English |
| Education | Cheltenham College |
| Alma mater | Queens' College, Cambridge |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Relatives | Abraham Faure (great-great-grandfather) |
Terence Hanbury "Tim" White (born May 29, 1906 – died January 17, 1964) was a famous English writer. He is most known for his stories about King Arthur. These stories were collected and published as one big book called The Once and Future King in 1958.
One of his most popular books is The Sword in the Stone. This book was the first in the series. It was published by itself in 1938 before becoming part of The Once and Future King.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Where Was T. H. White Born?
Tim White was born in Bombay, British India. His father, Garrick Hanbury White, worked as a police superintendent. His mother was Constance Edith Southcote Aston.
School and College Years
White went to Cheltenham College in Gloucestershire. This was a special school in the UK. Later, he studied at Queens' College, Cambridge. There, he was taught by a scholar named L. J. Potts. Potts became a very close friend and helped White a lot with his writing. White called him "the great literary influence in my life."
While at Cambridge, White wrote about Thomas Malory's famous book, Le Morte d'Arthur. He finished college in 1928 with top honors in English.
Becoming a Teacher and Writer
After college, White taught at Stowe School in Buckinghamshire for four years. In 1936, he published a book called England Have My Bones. It was a memoir about a year he spent in England. People liked the book.
That same year, he left Stowe School. He moved to a small cottage nearby. There, he focused on writing. He also enjoyed activities like falconry (training hawks), hunting, and fishing. White also learned to fly planes to help him with his fear of heights.
His Famous Books
Early Science Fiction Stories
White wrote two science fiction novels. These were Earth Stopped (1934) and Gone to Ground (1935). They were about a big disaster that changed the world. Gone to Ground also had fantasy stories told by the people who survived. These stories were later put into another book called The Maharajah and Other Stories.
How The Sword in the Stone Began
In 1937, White felt inspired by Thomas Malory's book about King Arthur. He wrote to a friend, saying he found the story to be a "perfect tragedy." He also felt the characters were "real people." This made him want to write his own book.
He called his new book The Sword in the Stone. It was published in 1938. The book tells the story of King Arthur's childhood. White was also interested in how people think (psychology) and nature. The Sword in the Stone was very popular and chosen by the Book of the Month Club in 1939.
Writing During World War II
In 1939, White moved to Ireland. He lived there during the Second World War. He chose not to fight in the war. In Ireland, he wrote most of the books that would become The Once and Future King. These included The Witch in the Wood (later changed to The Queen of Air and Darkness) in 1939, and The Ill-Made Knight in 1940. The version of The Sword in the Stone in The Once and Future King is a bit different and darker than the first one.
Later Works and Collections
In 1946, White moved to Alderney. This is one of the Channel Islands. He lived there for the rest of his life. That same year, he published Mistress Masham's Repose. This was a children's book. It was about a young girl who found tiny people called Lilliputians. These characters came from Jonathan Swift's book Gulliver's Travels.
In the early 1950s, he wrote two non-fiction books. The Age of Scandal (1950) was a collection of essays about England in the 1700s. The Goshawk (1951) was about White's own try at training a wild hawk. He used old methods, which was very difficult.
In 1954, White translated a medieval book called The Book of Beasts. It was a collection of stories about animals.
Completing the Arthurian Saga
In 1958, White finished the fourth book of The Once and Future King. It was called The Candle in the Wind. This book was only published as part of the full collection.
White lived to see his King Arthur stories become famous in other ways. They were made into a Broadway musical called Camelot in 1960. They also became an animated film, The Sword in the Stone, in 1963.
Death and Legacy
When Did T. H. White Die?
T. H. White died on January 17, 1964. He passed away from heart failure on a ship in Piraeus, Athens, Greece. He was on his way back to Alderney after a lecture tour in the United States. He is buried in the First Cemetery of Athens.
Books Published After His Death
Another book, The Book of Merlyn, was published after he died in 1977. It was meant to be a final part of The Once and Future King. His writings and papers are kept at the University of Texas at Austin.
Influence on Other Writers
Inspiring Fantasy Authors
Many fantasy writers have been influenced by T. H. White. Michael Moorcock enjoyed The Once and Future King. He liked how realistic White's stories felt. Moorcock even wrote letters to White, and White gave him "very good advice on how to write."
J. K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books, said White's writing greatly influenced her. Some people compare her character Albus Dumbledore to White's wizard, Merlyn. Rowling herself said that White's character Wart (young King Arthur) was like "Harry's spiritual ancestor."
When asked about similarities between Harry Potter and his own character Timothy Hunter, author Neil Gaiman said, "I thought we were both just stealing from T. H. White: very straightforward."
Gregory Maguire, who wrote the novel Wicked, was influenced by White's ability to be "intellectually broadminded, to be comic, to be poetic, and to be fantastic." Even crime fiction writer Ed McBain said White influenced him.
White is also a big part of Helen Macdonald's book H is for Hawk. This book won a major award in 2014. Part of her book tells about White's life and his own attempt to train a hawk, which he wrote about in The Goshawk.
See also
In Spanish: T. H. White para niños
