Fred Urquhart (writer)

Fred Urquhart (12 July 1912 – 2 December 1995) was a Scottish short story writer.

Urquhart was born in Edinburgh, the son of a chauffeur. He spent much of his childhood in Fife, Perthshire and Wigtownshire. He was a pacifist and conscientious objector and worked on the land during the Second World War. Many of his stories revolved around rural life, set in the (fictional) town of Auchencairn. He was a homosexual. Amongst his work the best regarded is Jezebel's Dust (1951).^[1] One obituarist said that, "His skill was to show characters in everyday, conversational action" and, writing in the Manchester Evening News in November 1944, George Orwell praised his "remarkable gift for constructing neat stories with convincing dialogue."^[2]

He had a particular love of horses and edited The Book of Horses (1981).

Urquhart died in Musselburgh at the age of 83.

Selected Bibliography

• Jezebels Dust 1951
• Dying Stallion 1967
• The Ploughing Match 1968

References