Lloyd Alexander

Infobox Writer
name =Lloyd Chudley Alexander

|thumb|Book cover of The High King
caption =
birthdate = birth date|1924|1|30|df=y
birthplace = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ¹
deathdate = death date and age|2007|5|17|1924|1|30|df=y
deathplace = Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania
occupation = Author, Novelist
genre = Fantasy
debut work =The Chronicles of Prydain
influences = J. R. R. Tolkien, Welsh Mythology
influenced = Piers Anthony, Holly Black,cite news | http://www.teachingbooks.net/content/Black_qu.pdf | title=Holly Black - Author Program In-Depth Interview | publisher=TeachingBooks.net | October 29, 2004 | accessdate=2008-09-05] Terry Brooks, Cassandra Clarecite news | http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=1&pid=526009&agid=8 | title=City of Bones Q&A | publisher=Simon & Schuster| accessdate=2008-09-05] , Clare B. Dunkle,cite news | http://www.claredunkle.com/Design/authorlloyd.htm | title=A Tribute to Lloyd Alexaner | publisher=Clare B. Dunkle| accessdate=2008-09-05] Katherine Paterson, Terry Pratchett, George R.R. Martin, J. K. Rowling
website =

Lloyd Chudley Alexander (January 30, 1924 - May 17, 2007) was a widely-influential American author of more than forty books, mostly fantasy novels for children and adolescents, as well as several adult books. His most famous contribution to the field of children's literature is the fantasy series "The Chronicles of Prydain." The concluding book of the series, "The High King", was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1969. Alexander's other books have also won the National Book Award and the American Book Award. He was also one of the creators of Cricket Magazine.cite news | http://www.writeaway.org.uk/content/view/184/2/ | title=Lloyd Alexander 1924-2007 | author=Nikki Gamble |publisher=Write Away| date=24 May 2007 |accessdate=2008-09-05]

Personal life

Alexander was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1924 and grew up in the suburb of Drexel Hill. His father was a stockbroker and their family was greatly affected by the Great Depression. According to Alexander, his parents didn't read books and only bought them from the Salvation Army "to fill up empty shelves." [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/17/AR2007051702371.html Lloyd Alexander; Fantasy and Adventure Writer] by Adam Bernstein, Washington Post, May 18, 2007, Page B08.]

Alexander graduated from Upper Darby High School in 1940, and was inducted into the school's Wall of Fame in 1995. He decided he wanted to be a writer at age 15, but his parents were so upset that they placed him at Haverford College just down the road from home (although he left after completing only a single term). [http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6443846.html "Newbery Winner Lloyd Alexander Dies at 83"] , School Library Journal, 5/17/2007.] Looking for adventure, he served in the US Army in World War II, where he rose to be a staff sergeant in intelligence and counterintelligence after he trained in Wales, which would become the setting of so many of his books. Alexander then attended the University of Paris, where he met Janine Denni. They were married in 1946. Alexander died May 17, 2007, two weeks after the death of his wife of sixty-one years. He is buried at Arlington Cemetery Co in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. His daughter, Madeline Khalil, died in 1990.

Career

Alexander's most well-known novels are within the genre of children's literature, with "The Chronicles of Prydain" being his most famous work. The five-volume series of children's fantasy novels detail the adventures of a young man named Taran, who is awarded the honor of Assistant Pig-Keeper but dreams of being a grand hero, and his companions Princess Eilonwy, Fflewddur Fflam the wandering bard and king, a feral yet gentle creature called Gurgi, and a dwarf named Doli. The book focuses on Taran's progression from youth to maturity, with the series being loosely inspired by Welsh mythology and the "Mabinogion". The first two books in this series formed the basis of the Disney animated film "The Black Cauldron".

Alexander's other major fiction series are the Westmark trilogy, about a printer's apprentice involved in political intrigue in a faux-European kingdom, and the Vesper Holly series, about a Philadelphia orphan who travels around a 19th century fantasy world. His picture book "The Fortune Tellers" (1992), illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, created something of a controversy because some felt that the story was of European origin and thus contextually inappropriate for the book's African setting. [cite book |last=Lasky |first=Kathryn |coauthors= |editor= Dana L. Fox and Kathy G. Short (eds.) |others= |title=Stories Matter: The Complexity of Cultural Authenticity in Children's Literature |origdate= |origyear= |origmonth= |url= |format= |accessdate=2008-09-17 |accessyear= |accessmonth= |edition= |series= |volume= |date= |year= 2003 |month= |publisher=National Council of Teachers of English |location= |language= |isbn=0-8141-4744-5 |oclc= |doi= |id= |pages=86-87 |]

Alexander's last novel, "The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio", was published in August 2007. "I have finished my life work," Alexander said about the book before he died.The "Dictionary of Literary Biography" said Alexander's books had "the special depth and insight provided by characters who not only act, but think, feel and struggle with the same kinds of problems that confuse and trouble people in the twentieth century."

In describing the influences on his writing, Alexander once said, "Shakespeare, Dickens, Mark Twain and so many others were my dearest friends and greatest teachers. I loved all the world's mythologies: King Arthur was one of my heroes." [http://www.cas.usf.edu/lis/alis/lis5937/prior/eliza.htm Biography of Lloyd Alexander] , University of South Florida College of Arts and Sciences, accessed May 18, 2007.]

Awards

Alexander began to receive significant critical acclaim with the release of his Chronicles of Prydain series. The second book, "The Black Cauldron," was a 1966 Newbery Honor book. The fourth book in the series, "Taran Wanderer," was a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. The fifth and final book in the series, "The High King" won the 1969 Newbery Medal and was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the American Book Award. However, Alexander's other books were praised as well "The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian," won a 1971 National Book Award. He also won a 1982 American Book Award for Westmark.Among his other awards were the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for "The Fortune-Tellers". In 1972 he was included in the prestigous reference series, "Book of Junior Authors and Illustrators".

Bibliography

The Chronicles of Prydain

:* "The Book of Three" (1964):* "The Black Cauldron" (1965) - Winner of the 1966 Newbery Honor:* "The Castle of Llyr" (1966):* "Taran Wanderer" (1967):* "The High King" (1968) - Winner of the 1969 Newbery Medal:* "The Foundling and Other Tales from Prydain" (1970)

The Westmark Trilogy

:* "Westmark" (1981):* "The Kestrel" (1982):* "The Beggar Queen" (1984)

The Vesper Holly series

:* "The Illyrian Adventure" (1986):* "The El Dorado Adventure" (1987):* "The Drackenberg Adventure" (1988):* "The Jedera Adventure" (1989):* "The Philadelphia Adventure" (1990):* "The Xanadu Adventure" (2005)

Other

:* "And Let the Credit Go" (1955) (first published book):* "My Five Tigers" (1956):* "August Bondi: Border Hawk" (1958):* "Aaron Lopez: The Flagship Hope" (1960):* "Fifty Years in the Doghouse" (1963):* "" (1963):* "The Truthful Harp" (1967):* "The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian" (1970):* "The King's Fountain" (1971):* "The Four Donkeys" (1972):* "The Cat Who Wished to Be a Man" (1973):* "The Wizard in the Tree" (1974):* "The First Two Lives of Lukas-Kasha" (1978):* "The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen" (1991):* "The Fortune-Tellers" (1992):* "The Arkadians" (1995):* "The House Gobbaleen" (1995):* "The Iron Ring" (1997):* "Gypsy Rizka" (1999):* "How the Cat Swallowed Thunder" (2000):* "The Gawgon and the Boy" (2001) (UK title "The Fantastical Adventures of the Invisible Boy"):* "The Rope Trick" (2002):* "Dream-of-Jade: The Emperor's Cat" (2005):* "The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio" (2007)

Translations

:* "The Diary of Antoine Roquentin" (John Lehmann, 1949). This was the first English translation of the celebrated existentialist novel "La Nausée" by Jean-Paul Sartre (Gallimard 1938).

References

External links

* [http://www.lloydalexanderbooks.com/ The Chronicles of Prydain]
* [http://www.cbcbooks.org/cbcmagazine/meet/lloydalexander.html Lloyd Alexander on Fantasy]
* [http://friend.ly.net/users/jorban/biographies/alexanderlloyd/index.html Penguin USA: Lloyd Alexander's biography]
*isfdb name|id=Lloyd_Alexander|name=Lloyd Alexander
* [http://www.udsd.k12.pa.us/alumni/wof.php# Upper Darby High School Wall of Fame]
* [http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/au-alexander-lloyd.asp Lloyd Alexander] from Kidsreads.com
* [http://www.webcemeteries.com/arlington/Individual.asp?Id=244346&T=3 Facts about Lloyd Alexander at Arlington Cemetery]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jln9VPoP3Tw Meeting Lloyd Alexander]
* [http://www.fantasyliterature.net/alexanderlloyd.html Novel synopses and reviews at FanLit.net]