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James Aldridge

ジェームズ・オルドリッジ

James Aldridge

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1918-07-10 （White Hills, Victoria, Australia）
Died
2015-02-23 （London, England, UK） age 96
Nationality
Australian, British
Languages
English
Residence History
Swan Hill (childhood) → Melbourne (1935–1938, worked as a newspaper journalist) → London (based from 1938 onward) → Egypt (post-war period, particularly Cairo as a foreign correspondent)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Journalist
Active Years
1935-2006
Affiliations
The Sun News-Pictorial (Melbourne), World Peace Council (association/award), International Organization of Journalists (journalism award)
Influenced By
Ernest Hemingway

Education

London School of Economics
Period: 1930年代（在学年は不明）
Country: United Kingdom
Exact years of attendance and degree are not specified

Awards

John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
1945
Work: The Sea Eagle
Organization: John Llewellyn Rhys Prize organization
Result: winner
World Peace Council Gold Medal
1953
Organization: World Peace Council
Result: recipient
Lenin Peace Prize
1972
Organization: USSR (Lenin Peace Prize)
Result: winner
Gold Medal for Journalism (International Organization of Journalists)
1972
Organization: International Organization of Journalists
Result: recipient
Order of Friendship of Peoples
1988
Organization: USSR
Result: recipient
Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
1986
Work: The True Story of Spit Macphee
Organization: The Guardian
Result: winner
New South Wales Premier's Literary Award
1986
Work: The True Story of Spit Macphee
Organization: New South Wales government
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Signed with Their Honour

1942 War novel

An early novel based on WWII experiences, following a young RAF pilot in action.

warheroismcamaraderie
Adaptations
  • [Film (attempted, abandoned)] Signed with Their Honour (film project) (1943)

The Sea Eagle

1944 War novel

Follows Australian soldiers during and after the fall of Crete; one of Aldridge's early notable novels.

warsurvivalreturn

The Diplomat

1949 Espionage / Political novel

A political and espionage drama set around the Azerbaijan/Iran crisis, exploring Cold War tensions.

politicsespionageCold War

The Hunter

1950 Adventure / Drama

A drama about fur hunters in the Ontario bush and their struggles against nature and fate.

natureman vs naturesurvival

A Captive in the Land

1962 Political / Adventure novel

Set in the Arctic, an English scientist rescues the sole survivor of a crashed Russian plane, exploring moral dilemmas amid East-West tensions.

Cold Warethicshumanity
Adaptations
  • [Film] A Captive in the Land (1993)

My Brother Tom

1966 Young adult / Novel

A coming-of-age story set in the fictional Australian town of St Helen, dealing with sectarian tensions.

coming-of-agereligious conflictsmall-town community
Adaptations
  • [Television (mini-series)] My Brother Tom (TV mini-series) (1986)

The True Story of Spit Macphee

1986 Children's fiction

A children's novel exploring community, friendship and misunderstandings; winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize.

friendshipgrowing upcommunity

Bibliography

  • Signed with Their Honour (1942)
  • The Sea Eagle (1944)
  • Of Many Men (1946)
  • The Forty-Ninth State (1946)
  • The Diplomat (1949)
  • The Hunter (1950)
  • Heroes of the Empty View (1954)
  • Undersea Hunting for Inexperienced Englishmen (1955)
  • I Wish He Would Not Die (1957)
  • The Last Exile (1961)
  • A Captive in the Land (1962)
  • My Brother Tom (1966)
  • The Statesman's Game (1966)
  • The Flying 19 (1966)
  • Cairo - Biography of a City (1969)
  • Living Egypt (1969) (with Paul Strand)
  • A Sporting Proposition / Ride a Wild Pony (1973)
  • Mockery in Arms (1974)
  • The Marvellous Mongolian (1974)
  • The Untouchable Juli (1975)
  • One Last Glimpse (1977)
  • Goodbye Un-America (1979)
  • The Broken Saddle (1982)
  • The True Story of Lilli Stubeck (1984)
  • The True Story of Spit Macphee (1986)
  • The True Story of Lola Mackellar (1992)
  • The Girl from the Sea (2002)
  • The Wings of Kitty St Clair (2006)

Adaptations

  • The Last Inch (short story adaptation, 1958 Soviet film)
  • Ride a Wild Pony (adapted from A Sporting Proposition, 1975 Disney film)
  • My Brother Tom (1986 TV mini-series)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Concise, realist proseReportorial and descriptive narration influenced by wartime experience
Recurring Motifs
war and its consequencesethical dilemmasAustralian small-town lifeMiddle Eastern / North African settings

Legacy

A writer whose wartime correspondence informed his war novels and who later produced notable children's fiction. He received international awards related to peace and journalism, and several works were adapted for screen and television.

Academic Societies

  • Children's Book Council of Australia (connected via awards)

In Popular Culture

  • Adapted as Ride a Wild Pony (Disney film, 1975)
  • Short story adapted as The Last Inch (1958 Soviet film)
  • My Brother Tom adapted as a TV mini-series in 1986

Quotes

  • "showed real promise."
    Source: Critic Herbert Faulkner-West (review of Signed with Their Honour) (1947)

Trivia

  • A planned film of Signed with Their Honour was abandoned after two Gloster Gladiator biplanes collided during filming.
  • A Sporting Proposition was adapted by Disney as Ride a Wild Pony (1975).
  • Served as a juror at the 7th Moscow International Film Festival (1971).