William Boyd (writer) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
William Boyd
CBE FRSL
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Boyd in 2009
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| Born | William Andrew Murray Boyd 7 March 1952 Accra, Gold Coast |
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| Language | English |
| Nationality | British |
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| Notable awards | Grand prix des lectrices de Elle |
William Andrew Murray Boyd (born on March 7, 1952) is a British writer. He is known for writing novels, short stories, and screenplays for movies and TV shows.
Contents
About William Boyd's Life
William Boyd was born in Accra, which was then called the Gold Coast. This place is now known as Ghana. His parents were from Fife, Scotland. His father, Alexander, was a doctor who specialized in tropical medicine, which is about diseases found in hot countries. His mother was a teacher.
In the early 1960s, William's family moved to Nigeria. He spent his early years in Ghana and Nigeria. When he was nine, he went to a preparatory school (a type of private school) in Scotland. He then went to Gordonstoun school. Later, he studied at the University of Nice in France and the University of Glasgow in Scotland. He also attended Jesus College, Oxford.
From 1980 to 1983, Boyd taught English at St Hilda's College, Oxford. During this time, his first novel, A Good Man in Africa, was published in 1981. He also wrote about television for a magazine called New Statesman.
William Boyd has received several important honors. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2005 for his contributions to literature. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, which means he is recognized as a distinguished writer. He has received special degrees from several universities.
Boyd met his wife, Susan, at Glasgow University. She used to be an editor and now writes screenplays too. They live in Chelsea, London, and also have a farmhouse and vineyard in France.
William Boyd's Writings
William Boyd is a very active writer. He has written many types of stories and scripts.
His Novels
In 1983, William Boyd was named one of the 20 "Best of Young British Novelists." He has written many popular novels, including:
- A Good Man in Africa (1981): This book is about a British diplomat who faces many problems in West Africa. It won the Whitbread Book award.
- An Ice-Cream War (1982): This story is set during World War I in East Africa. It was considered for the Booker Prize for Fiction.
- Brazzaville Beach (1991): This novel follows a scientist who studies chimpanzee behavior in Africa.
- Any Human Heart (2002): This book is written like the journals of a made-up British writer from the 20th century.
- Restless (2006): This novel is about a young woman who finds out her mother was a spy during World War II. It won the Novel of the Year award.
- Solo (2013): This is a special James Bond novel.
- Sweet Caress (2015): This is one of his novels told from a woman's point of view.
- Trio (2020): This is his sixteenth novel.
Solo: A James Bond Adventure
In 2012, the people who manage Ian Fleming's books announced that William Boyd would write the next James Bond novel. The book is called Solo and takes place in 1969. It was published in 2013. Interestingly, Boyd had already included Ian Fleming (the creator of James Bond) as a character in his novel Any Human Heart. In that book, Fleming recruits the main character, Logan Mountstuart, to work for British intelligence during World War Two.
Short Stories
William Boyd has also published several collections of short stories. These include On the Yankee Station (1981), The Destiny of Nathalie 'X' (1995), Fascination (2004), and The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth (2017). He believes that writing short stories helped him become a better writer.
Screenplays for Movies and TV
As a screenwriter, William Boyd has written many scripts for films and television shows. Some of his movie scripts include:
- Scoop (1987): Based on a novel by Evelyn Waugh.
- Stars and Bars (1988): Adapted from his own novel.
- Mister Johnson (1990): Based on a 1939 novel.
- A Good Man in Africa (1994): Also adapted from his own novel.
- The Trench (1999): An independent war film that he also directed.
- Man to Man (2005): A historical drama.
- He also helped write Chaplin (1992), a movie about the famous actor Charlie Chaplin.
His TV screenplays include:
- Good and Bad at Games (1983): Adapted from one of his short stories.
- Any Human Heart (2010): Adapted from his own novel into a Channel 4 series, which won a BAFTA award.
- Restless (2012): Also adapted from his own novel.
- He also created the miniseries Spy City (2020).
Plays for the Stage
William Boyd has written plays for the theater.
- He adapted two short stories by Anton Chekhov into a play called Longing (2013).
- Another play by Boyd, The Argument, was performed in 2016.
Non-fiction Books
Boyd has also written non-fiction, which means books based on facts and real events.
- Protobiography (1998): This book shares memories from his early childhood.
- Bamboo (2005): This is a collection of his journalism and other non-fiction writings.
The Nat Tate Hoax
In 1998, William Boyd created a clever prank called the "Nat Tate hoax." He published a book titled Nat Tate: An American Artist 1928–1960. This book claimed to be about a 1950s abstract expressionist painter named Nat Tate, who supposedly had a tragic life. However, Nat Tate was completely made up by Boyd!
When the book first came out, people didn't know it was a joke. It was launched at a fancy party where famous people like David Bowie and Gore Vidal (who were in on the secret) read parts of it. Some people in the art world even claimed to remember the artist, which shows how convincing the hoax was. The name "Nat Tate" comes from two famous British art galleries: the National Gallery and the Tate Gallery. Boyd even made paintings under the name Nat Tate and sold them for charity. He later included Nat Tate in his novel Any Human Heart, with a funny note about the 1998 book.
Awards and Prizes
William Boyd has won many awards for his writing:
- 1981: Whitbread First Novel Award for A Good Man in Africa
- 1982: Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize for An Ice-Cream War
- 1982: Somerset Maugham Award for A Good Man in Africa
- 1990: James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Brazzaville Beach
- 1991: McVitie's Prize for Scottish Writer of the Year for Brazzaville Beach
- 1993: The Sunday Express Book of the Year for The Blue Afternoon
- 1995: Los Angeles Times Book Prize for The Blue Afternoon
- 2003: Prix Jean Monnet de Littérature Européenne for Any Human Heart
- 2003: Grand prix des lectrices de Elle for the French version of Any Human Heart
- 2006: Costa Book Award for Restless
See also
In Spanish: William Boyd (escritor) para niños
