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Alan Garner

アラン・ガーナー

Aran Gānā

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1934-10-17 （Congleton）
Nationality
English, British
Languages
English
Residence History
Alderley Edge, Cheshire → Blackden, Cheshire (Toad Hall)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Folklorist
Active Years
1960-2024
Affiliations
Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL)
Memberships
Royal Society of Literature
Influenced By
Cheshire folklore, Aeschylus, Homer
Influenced
Philip Pullman
Nominations
2022 Booker Prize shortlist (Treacle Walker)

Education

Manchester Grammar School
Secondary education
Period: 1940年代-1950年代
Country: United Kingdom
Attended on scholarship
University of Oxford
Magdalen College / Classics
Period: 1953-1956
Country: United Kingdom
Left without taking a degree

Awards

Carnegie Medal
1967
Work: The Owl Service
Category: 児童文学
Organization: Library Association
Result: 受賞
Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
1968
Work: The Owl Service
Organization: The Guardian
Result: 受賞
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
2001
Category: 文学への貢献
Organization: British Monarchy
Result: 受賞
World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement
2012
Organization: World Fantasy Award
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Weirdstone of Brisingamen

1960 Children's fantasy

Children encounter evil creatures and a wizard on Alderley Edge in search of a magical stone rooted in local folklore.

FolkloreLandscapeMagic

The Moon of Gomrath

1963 Children's fantasy

Sequel where Susan is possessed by a Brollachan and her soul is lost to another dimension.

FolkloreDark forces

Elidor

1965 Fantasy

Children enter a magical realm through a derelict church and protect treasures from evil.

OtherworldGood vs Evil
Adaptations
  • [TV series] Elidor (1995)

The Owl Service

1967 Low fantasy

Mythical tale inspired by Welsh Mabinogion where plates form owls or flowers.

MythCurse
Adaptations
  • [TV series] The Owl Service (1969)
  • [Stage] The Owl Service (2004)

The Stone Book Quartet

1979 Novellas

Four novellas about a day in the life of four generations of Garner's family.

Family historyCraftsmanship

Red Shift

1973 Fantasy novel

Three intertwined love stories across time: present, English Civil War, and Roman era.

TimeLoneliness
Adaptations
  • [TV play] Red Shift / John Mackenzie (1978)

Bibliography

  • The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (1960)
  • The Moon of Gomrath (1963)
  • Elidor (1965)
  • The Owl Service (1967)
  • Red Shift (1973)
  • Strandloper (1996)
  • Thursbitch (2003)
  • Boneland (2012)
  • Treacle Walker (2021)

Adaptations

  • The Owl Service TV series (1969)
  • Elidor TV series (1995)

Translations by Author

  • Alan Garner's Book of British Fairy Tales etc.

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Use of Cheshire dialectBare and concrete languageMythological symbolism
Recurring Motifs
TimeFolkloreCheshire landscapePsychological conflict

Health

  • Life-threatening childhood illnesses
    幼少期
    Left bedridden for much time
  • Bipolar disorder
    成人期
    Influenced his writing and life

Legacy

Great master of British fantasy, praised as most important since Tolkien, creating unique mythic worlds from Cheshire folklore and landscape.

Academic Societies

  • Royal Society of Literature

Archives

  • University of Oregon Special Collections

In Popular Culture

  • Highly praised by Philip Pullman and others

Quotes

  • I certainly have never written for children... I write for myself.
    Source: Interview (1989)
  • Time is Garner's most consistent theme.
    Source: Neil Philip criticism (1981)

Trivia

  • Jogged with Alan Turing
  • Excelled in sprinting at Manchester Grammar School
  • First in family to pursue higher education
  • Bought Toad Hall for £510 in 1957