Peter Vansittart
Encyclopedia
Peter Vansittart OBE, FRSL (27 August 1920 – 4 October 2008) was a British writer. He had 50 novels published between 1942 and 2008; he also wrote historical studies, memoirs, stories for children and three anthologies: Voices from the Great War (his most popular book), Voices 1870-1914 and Voices of the Revolution
. He received an OBE in 2008 for his services to literature.
in 1920, the son of Edwin Morris and Mignon Vansittart. He was educated at Marlborough House School
, Haileybury College and Worcester College, Oxford
. He was a distant cousin of the late Lord Vansittart
, onetime (1930–38) Permanent Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. He worked as a schoolteacher at progressive schools - most notably Burgess Hill School, Hampstead - for 25 years before becoming a full time writer. He wrote a novel about his time as a schoolteacher called Broken Canes. For many years he made money by letting rooms in a house in Hampstead
which he bought for £200 in cash from an acquaintance in a pub in the 1940s. This inspired his novel Landlord. After living in London
for much of his life, Vansittart moved to Suffolk
to a house inherited from his mother.
He died on October 4, 2008 at Ipswich Hospital aged 88.
In his works, Vansittart expressed his fascination with how time transforms historical facts into fantasy and myth. He said, “I was long impressed by the woeful distinction between the historical Macbeth
and Shakespeare's: by the swift transformation of E.M. Forster's very English Mrs. Moore into an Indian goddess
. Such phenomena relate very immediately to my own work, in which myth can be all too real, and the real degenerate into fantasy.”
Secret Protocols, his last novel (and planned as such), is set in World War II
and was published in 2007.
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. He received an OBE in 2008 for his services to literature.
Biography
Vansittart was born in BedfordBedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
in 1920, the son of Edwin Morris and Mignon Vansittart. He was educated at Marlborough House School
Marlborough House School
Marlborough House School is a co-educational preparatory school situated in of countryside in Hawkhurst, Kent. The school currently has just over 320 pupils between the ages of 3 and 13 with a teaching staff of 40. Marlborough House is predominantly a day school, but operates a flexi-boarding...
, Haileybury College and Worcester College, Oxford
Worcester College, Oxford
Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in the eighteenth century, but its predecessor on the same site had been an institution of learning since the late thirteenth century...
. He was a distant cousin of the late Lord Vansittart
Robert Vansittart, 1st Baron Vansittart
Robert Gilbert Vansittart, 1st Baron Vansittart GCB, GCMG, PC, MVO was a senior British diplomat in the period before and during the Second World War...
, onetime (1930–38) Permanent Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. He worked as a schoolteacher at progressive schools - most notably Burgess Hill School, Hampstead - for 25 years before becoming a full time writer. He wrote a novel about his time as a schoolteacher called Broken Canes. For many years he made money by letting rooms in a house in Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
which he bought for £200 in cash from an acquaintance in a pub in the 1940s. This inspired his novel Landlord. After living in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for much of his life, Vansittart moved to Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
to a house inherited from his mother.
He died on October 4, 2008 at Ipswich Hospital aged 88.
Writing career
Vansittart’s novels span eras from 2000 BC to AD 1986. For several decades he was acclaimed as England’s greatest living historical novelist. He said of his work, “My novels have been appreciated, if not always enjoyed, more by critics than the reading public, which shows no sign of enjoying them at all. This must be partly due to my obsession with language and speculation at the expense of narrative, however much I relish narrative in others.”In his works, Vansittart expressed his fascination with how time transforms historical facts into fantasy and myth. He said, “I was long impressed by the woeful distinction between the historical Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
and Shakespeare's: by the swift transformation of E.M. Forster's very English Mrs. Moore into an Indian goddess
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....
. Such phenomena relate very immediately to my own work, in which myth can be all too real, and the real degenerate into fantasy.”
Secret Protocols, his last novel (and planned as such), is set in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and was published in 2007.
Awards
- Society of AuthorsSociety of AuthorsThe Society of Authors is a trade union for professional writers that was founded in 1884 to protect the rights of writers and fight to retain those rights .It has counted amongst its members and presidents numerous notable writers and poets including Tennyson The Society of Authors (UK) is a...
travelling scholarship, 1969 - Arts CouncilArts Council of Great BritainThe Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. The Arts Council of Great Britain was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England , the Scottish Arts Council, and the Arts Council of Wales...
bursary, 1981, 1984. - Fellow, Royal Society of Literature, 1985.
- OBE for his services to literature, 2008