Winston Graham

Winston Graham
Born (1908-06-30)30 June 1908
Victoria Park, Manchester, England
Died 10 July 2003(2003-07-10) (aged 95)
London, England
Spouse Jean Mary Williamson (1939-1992)

Winston Mawdsley Graham OBE (30 June 1908 – 10 July 2003) was an English novelist best known for the Poldark series of historical novels set in Cornwall. He also wrote many other novels, including thrillers and historical novels.

Biography

Graham was born at 66 Langdale Road, Victoria Park, Manchester on 30 June 1908 at 8 a.m. As a child, Winston contracted pneumonia, and on medical advice was educated at a local day school rather than Manchester Grammar School which his father had in mind for him.[1] Graham's father, Albert Grime, was a prosperous tea importer and grocer, but became incapacitated by a stroke.

When he was 17 years old, Winston moved to Perranporth, Cornwall, where he lived for more than 40 years.[2] He had wanted to be a writer from an early age and, following the death of his father, he was supported by his mother while he wrote novels at home in longhand and attempted to get them published.[1][3]

In September 1939, Graham married Jean Williamson, having first met her in 1926 when she was 13 years old. She often was known to help Graham with ideas for his books, and the character of Demelza, in his Poldark series, was based on her. Graham's daughter said, “Father was the author but my mother helped with the details because she was very observant. She saw everything and remembered it all."[2]Jean died in 1992.[4]

During his youth, Graham was a keen tennis player and recorded in his diaries how many sets he played each day. He lived in Perranporth from 1925 until 1959, and briefly in the south of France during 1960, finally settling in East Sussex. He was chairman of the Society of Authors and a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. In 1983, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.[4]

He was Chairman of the Society of Authors from 1967 to 1969. .[1]

Graham died on 10 July 2003 in London at the age of 95. His autobiography, Memoirs of a Private Man, was published that same year.[4]

Remembrances and legacy

The Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro, Cornwall had an exhibition devoted to his life and works (Poldark's Cornwall: The Life and Times of Winston Graham) from mid-June to mid-September 2008 to celebrate the centenary of his birth, coinciding with re-publication of the Poldark novels by Pan Macmillan.[4] Additionally, the Winston Graham Historical Prize was initiated as part of the Centenary Celebrations, funded by a legacy from the author and supported by Pan Macmillan. It is awarded for a work of unpublished fiction, preferably with an association with Cornwall. Details can be obtained from the Royal Cornwall Museum.[5]

The majority of Winston Graham's manuscripts and papers have been donated to the Royal Institution of Cornwall by his son Andrew Graham and daughter Rosamund Barteau. Further papers are housed at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University.

Literary career

Graham's first novel The House with the Stained Glass Windows was published in 1934.

His first Poldark novel Ross Poldark was published in 1945 and was succeeded by a series of eleven further titles, the last of which was Bella Poldark, published in 2002. The series was set in Cornwall, especially in and near Perranporth where Graham lived for more than three decades (1925-1959).[4]

cover of Marnie by Graham

Graham was also an accomplished author of suspense novels and, during the course of his life, wrote thirty-two novels (in addition to the twelve Poldark books). The 1941 spy thriller Night Journey, set in Nazi-occupied Europe, captures some of the spirit of the time, with the protagonist believing that Britain was perhaps going to lose the war, but remaining determined to "go down fighting". Other than the Poldark novels, Graham's most successful work was Marnie, a suspense thriller published in 1961.[4]

Graham also wrote a history of The Spanish Armadas, and the historical novel The Grove of Eagles, set in that period. (The plural "Armadas" refers to a lesser-known second attempt by Philip II of Spain to conquer England in 1598, which Graham argued was better planned and organised than the famous one of 1588, but was foiled by a fierce storm scattering the Spanish ships and sinking many of them.) His books have been translated into 24 languages.[4]

Graham's autobiography Memoirs of a Private Man was published by Macmillan in 2003.

Television and film adaptations of works

The first seven Poldark novels were adapted as a BBC television series broadcast in the UK between 1975 and 1977, which garnered audiences of about 14 million viewers.[6] The series was so successful that some vicars rescheduled or cancelled church services, rather than try to have them clash with the broadcast of the Poldark series.[7] However, Graham himself hated the show because of the portrayal of Demelza as promiscuous and 'loose'. Even though he tried to cancel the show, he could not do anything about it.[2][8]

The Poldark novels have been adapted for television on two other occasions.

Graham's novel Marnie (1961), a thriller, was filmed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1964, with Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery in the leads.[9]

Marnie (1961) was also adapted as a play by Sean O'Connor in 2001, which returned the story to its original British setting and bleak ending.

Five of Graham's other books have been filmed, including:

Bibliography

The Poldark novels

Other works

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Winston Graham obituary". The Independent. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Pukas, Anna (2015-03-09). "How Poldark's creator Winston Graham hated the BBC's first TV adaption". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
  3. ↑ "Winston Graham obituary". The Telegraph. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "In Profile ~ A Winston Graham Reader".
  5. ↑ "Winston Graham Prize". Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  6. ↑ "The Winston Graham and Poldark Literary Society". Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Winston Graham: 'I found the atmosphere and history exciting'". Cornish Guardian. March 4, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Why Poldark writer hated BBC's 'slutty' Demelza". Mail Online. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
  9. ↑ Barker, Dennis (July 14, 2003). "Obituary:Winston Graham". The Guardian. London. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  10. ↑ Graham, Winston (1967). Take My Life (Book Club (BCE/BOMC) ed.). Doubleday and Co. ASIN B0056OTX7Q.
  11. ↑ Graham, Winston (1950). Night Without Stars (Book Club ed.). Doubleday & Co. ASIN B000NPI97I.
  12. ↑ Graham, Winston (1953). Fortune Is a Woman. DOUBLEDAY & COMPANY. ASIN B000QBA4GS.
  13. ↑ Carnival of Crime. IMDb. 1962.
  14. ↑ Graham, Winston (1956). The Sleeping Partner (1st ed.). Hodder & Stoughton. ASIN B0000CJG3U.
  15. ↑ Graham, Winston (1967). The Walking Stick (1st US, Book Club ed.). Doubleday. ASIN B002BXCSPE.
  16. ↑ Ballantine edition (1977), ISBN 0-345-27731-7
  17. ↑ Ballantine edition (1977), ISBN 0-345-27733-3
  18. ↑ Ballantine edition (1977), ISBN 0-345-27734-1
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