John Spurling (author)
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John Antony SpurlingInternational Who's Who of Writers and Authors, 23rd edition, Europa Publications, Taylor & Francis Group, 2008, p. 685 (born 17 July 1936) is a Kenyan-English playwright and author who has written thirty-five plays and seven books. Spurling won the 2015
Walter Scott Prize The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction is a British literary award founded in 2010.Walter S ...
for ''
The Ten Thousand Things ''The Ten Thousand Things'' (original Dutch: ''De Tienduizend Dingen'', 1955) is a novel by the Indo-European novelist and writer Maria Dermoût. The story is a rich tapestry of family life against the exotic, tropical background of the Molucca I ...
''. Spurling worked in various other capacities between the 1960s and 1990s, including announcing for
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...
from 1963 to 1966, reviewing books and art for BBC Radio and many magazines and newspapers, and as principal art critic for the ''
New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...
'' from 1976 to 1988.


Early life and education

On 17 July 1936, Spurling was born in
Kisumu Kisumu ( ) is the third-largest city in Kenya located in the Lake Victoria area in the former Nyanza Province. It is the second-largest city after Kampala in the Lake Victoria Basin. The city has a population of slightly over 600,000. The ...
,
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
, to Antony Cuthbert Spurling (1906-1984), QC, resident magistrate and
Crown Counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Adv ...
at Kisumu and Nairobi, later Solicitor-General of
Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...
, and Attorney-General of
Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...
and of
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...
, and Elizabeth Frances, daughter of teacher and historian J. C. Stobart. After growing up in
Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...
, where he attended Nairobi Primary School, Spurling left Kenya for
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
in his tenth year, continuing his education at the
Dragon School The Dragon School is a private school across two sites in Oxford, England. The Dragon Pre-Prep (children aged 4–7) and Prep School (children aged 8–13) are both co-educational schools. The Dragon Prep School was founded in 1877 as the Oxfo ...
in Oxford and
Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...
in Wiltshire, before completing a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
from
St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...
, in 1960.


Career

After finishing his secondary education at Marlborough College, Spurling was called up for National Service and commissioned as a second lieutenant in the
Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
from 1955 to 1957. His regiment was stationed in West Germany. Having taken his degree at Oxford, he served as a plebiscite officer in
Southern Cameroons The Southern Cameroons was the southern part of the British League of Nations mandate territory of the British Cameroons in West Africa. Since 1961, it has been part of the Republic of Cameroon, where it makes up the Northwest Region and Southw ...
from 1960 to 1961. Spurling was a
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...
announcer from 1963 to 1966 and reviewed books and radio programs for ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...
'' from 1966 to 1970. In 1976, he became
art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...
for the ''
New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...
'' and held the position until 1988. Spurling began his career as a playwright at the age of twelve when he first encountered Shakespeare’s plays at the Dragon School and wrote a farcical piece, performed by his fellow-pupils, about
Julius Caesar's invasions of Britain In the course of his Gallic Wars, Julius Caesar invaded Britain twice: in 55 and 54 BC. On the first occasion, Caesar took with him only two legions, and achieved little beyond a landing on the coast of Kent. The second invasion was more substa ...
. In 1956 he wrote and directed a Christmas pantomime for his regiment in Germany and in 1958 his Pirandellian comedy ''Char.'' was performed by the student ETC (Experimental Theatre Company) at the Oxford Playhouse. Following a Sunday night performance of his play ''Gerald'' by professional actors directed by Michael Denison at the Duke of York’s Theatre, Spurling was given a two-year grant by a group of West End Managers and wrote ''MacRune’s Guevara'', about the recently dead
Che Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...
, which was performed in 1969 by the National Theatre and subsequently in many countries around the world. The diverse subjects of his later plays included
Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...
, and
Chairman Mao Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
and the Aztecs all in one play; the discovery of America; the British Empire; Racine; the Greek philosopher Hypatia, murdered by Christian monks; and an Arabian Nights version of Saddam Hussein. He also wrote plays for television and radio. Spurling published his first novel in 1989 and by 2015 his written works totalled thirty-five plays (a few still unperformed), four novels, two books of literary criticism and a book of Greek myths.


Awards and honours

In 1973, Spurling held the Henfield Writing Fellowship at the University of East Anglia and in 2010 became a
Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the ...
. In 2015, Spurling was awarded the
Walter Scott Prize The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction is a British literary award founded in 2010.Walter S ...
for Historical Fiction for his fourth novel, set in fourteenth-century China, ''
The Ten Thousand Things ''The Ten Thousand Things'' (original Dutch: ''De Tienduizend Dingen'', 1955) is a novel by the Indo-European novelist and writer Maria Dermoût. The story is a rich tapestry of family life against the exotic, tropical background of the Molucca I ...
''.


Personal life

In 1961 Spurling married writer Susan Hilary Forrest, better known as
Hilary Spurling Susan Hilary Spurling ( Forrest; born 25 December 1940) is a British writer, known for her work as a journalist and biographer. Early life and education Born in Stockport, Cheshire, to circuit judge Gilbert Alexander Forrest (1912–1977) and t ...
.Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed and Official Classes, 95th edition, Kelly's Directories Ltd, 1969, p. 764 The Spurlings have three children (Amy, Nathaniel, and Gilbert) and live in London, England.


Works


Stage plays (first productions)

* ''MacRune’s Guevara'', National Theatre, London, 1969, published by Calder & Boyars, 1969 * ''Romance'', (music and lyrics by Charles Ross) Duke of York’s Theatre, London, 1971 * ''In the Heart of the British Museum'', Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, 1971, published by Calder & Boyars, 1972 * ''Shades of Heathcliff'', Lucky’s, Sheffield, 1971, published by Marion Boyars, 1975 * ''Peace in our Time'', Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, 1972 * ''McGonagall and the Murderer'', Pool Theatre, Edinburgh, 1974 * ''On a Clear Day You Can See Marlowe'', Cockpit Theatre, London, 1974 * ''While Rome Burns'',
Marlowe Theatre The Marlowe Theatre is a 1,200-seat theatre in Canterbury named after playwright Christopher Marlowe, who was born and attended school in the city. It was named a The Stage Awards, Stage Awards, 2022 UK Theatre of the Year. The Marlowe Trust ...
, Canterbury, 1976 * ''Antigone Through the Looking Glass'', King’s Head, London, 1979 * ''The British Empire, Part One'', Birmingham Repertory Theatre, 1980, published by Marion Boyars, 1982 * ''Coming Ashore in Guadeloupe'', Harrogate Festival, 1982 * ''Racine at the Girls’ School'', Cheltenham Literary Festival, 1992 * ''The Butcher of Baghdad'', The Grace at the Latchmere, London, 1993 * ''Achilles on the Beach at Troy'', Bretton Hall, West Yorkshire, 1994 * ''King Arthur in Avalon'', Cheltenham Literary Festival, 1999 * ''Robinson Crusoe Meets His Maker'', HM Prison Albany, Isle of Wight, 2003 * ''Mutiny in Paradise'',
HM Prison Kingston HM Prison Kingston is a former Prison security categories in the United Kingdom, Category B/C men's prison, located in the Kingston, Portsmouth, Kingston area of Portsmouth, in Hampshire, England. Prior to closure, the prison was operated by Her ...
, Portsmouth, 2004


Television plays

* ''Hope'', BBC 2, 1970 * ''Faith'', BBC 2, 1971 * ''Death of Captain Doughty'', Granada, 1973 * ''Silver'', Granada, 1973


Radio plays

* ''Where Tigers Roam'', BBC Radio 3, 1976 * ''Dominion over Palm and Pine (The British Empire, part one)'', BBC Radio 3, 1982 * ''The Christian Hero (The British Empire, part two)'', BBC Radio 3, 1982 * ''The Day of Reckoning (The British Empire, part three)'', BBC Radio 3, 1985 * ''Daughters and Sons (six-part dramatisation of I. Compton-Burnett’s novel)'', BBC Radio 4, 1985 * ''Fancy Pictures: a portrait after Gainsborough'', BBC Radio 4, 1988 * ''Discobolus'', BBC Radio 3, 1989 * ''The Butcher of Baghdad'', BBC Radio 3, 1993 * ''MacRune’s Guevara'', BBC Radio 3, 1993 * ''Heresy'', BBC Radio 3, 2001 * ''A Household in Hove'', BBC Radio 4, 2002


Literary criticism

* ''Beckett: a study of his plays'' (with John Fletcher), Eyre Methuen, 1972 * ''Beckett the Playwright'' (third, revised edition of above), Methuen, 1985 * ''The Hill Station by J.G.Farrell'' (his unfinished novel edited with introduction), Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1981 * ''Graham Greene'', Methuen, 1983


Fiction

* ''The Ragged End'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1989 * ''After Zenda'', Andre Deutsch, 1995 * ''A Book of Liszts: Variations on the Theme of Franz Liszt'', Seagull, 2011 * ''The Ten Thousand Things'', Overlook/Duckworth, 2014 * ''Arcadian Nights: Greek Myths Re-imagined'', Overlook/Duckworth, 2015


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spurling, John 1936 births English people of Kenyan descent English male dramatists and playwrights English writers English art critics Walter Scott Prize winners Living people People from Kisumu County Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature People educated at Marlborough College People educated at The Dragon School Alumni of St John's College, Oxford