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Jonathan Coe

ジョナサン・コー

Jonathan Coe

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1961-08-19 （Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England）
Nationality
British
Languages
English
Religion
Atheism

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Writer
Active Years
1987-
Influenced By
B. S. Johnson

Education

King Edward's School, Birmingham
Secondary education
Country: United Kingdom
Secondary school attended
Trinity College, Cambridge
English
Degree: BA
Country: United Kingdom
Undergraduate studies in English
University of Warwick
English Literature
Degree: MA, PhD
Country: United Kingdom
Completed MA and PhD in English Literature

Awards

John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
1994
Work: What a Carve Up!
Result: winner
Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger
1995
Work: What a Carve Up!
Result: winner
Writers' Guild of Great Britain Best Fiction Book
1997
Work: The House of Sleep
Organization: Writers' Guild of Great Britain
Result: winner
Prix Médicis (Étranger)
1998
Work: The House of Sleep
Result: winner
Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize
2001
Work: The Rotters' Club
Result: winner
Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
2004
Organization: Government of France
Result: honour
Premio Arcebispo Juan de San Clemente
2004
Result: recipient
Samuel Johnson Prize
2005
Work: Like a Fiery Elephant
Result: winner
Honorary DLitt, University of Birmingham
2006
Organization: University of Birmingham
Result: honorary degree
Honorary DLitt, University of Wolverhampton
2006
Organization: University of Wolverhampton
Result: honorary degree
Honorary DUniv, Birmingham City University
Organization: Birmingham City University
Result: honorary degree
Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
2012
Organization: Royal Society of Literature
Result: fellowship
European Book Prize
2019
Work: Middle England
Result: winner
Costa Book Award — Novel
2019
Work: Middle England
Category: Novel
Organization: Costa
Result: winner
Bauer-Ca' Foscari award (Incroci di civiltà)
2019
Result: recipient

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

What a Carve Up!

1994 Satire

A satirical novel about the 'carve up' of Britain's resources under the Conservative governments of the 1980s, blending political concerns with comic and suspenseful elements.

British politicsSatirePower and capital
Adaptations
  • [Radio drama] What a Carve Up! (radio) / David Nobbs

The House of Sleep

1997 Novel

A novel that weaves together multiple characters around the motif of sleep, notable for structural experiments and interior character portrayal.

MemorySleepHuman relationships

The Rotters' Club

2001 Novel

A novel about youth, music and social change in 1970s Britain, reflecting a strong love of music and the atmosphere of the era.

MusicYouthSocial change
Adaptations
  • [Television drama] The Rotters' Club (TV) / Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais (2005)

The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim

2010 Novel

A novel about loneliness and human relationships in the age of social media, following the isolated protagonist and modern social contradictions.

LonelinessSocial mediaContemporary society
Adaptations
  • [Film] The Very Private Life of Mister Sim / Michel Leclerc (2015)

Middle England

2018 Novel

A novel set against the backdrop of Brexit-era Britain, weaving political and cultural conflicts into everyday life, expressing political concerns with humour.

BrexitBritish societyPolitics and the individual

Bibliography

  • The Accidental Woman
  • A Touch of Love
  • The Dwarves of Death
  • What a Carve Up!
  • The House of Sleep
  • The Rotters' Club
  • The Closed Circle
  • The Rain Before It Falls
  • The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim
  • Expo 58
  • Number 11
  • Middle England
  • Mr Wilder and Me
  • Bournville
  • The Proof of My Innocence

Adaptations

  • What a Carve Up! adapted for radio
  • The Rotters' Club adapted for television
  • The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim adapted as the French film The Very Private Life of Mister Sim

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Satirical, politically engaged but often comic toneStructural experimentation and multi-perspective narration
Recurring Motifs
Political critiqueMusic and pop cultureLoneliness and interpersonal relationships

Legacy

Jonathan Coe is regarded as a writer who depicts contemporary Britain with satire and warmth, widely read for blending politics and personal life. He has received international awards, inspired adaptations and attracted academic interest.

Academic Societies

  • Royal Society of Literature (Fellow)

In Popular Culture

  • Presence in popular culture through radio, television and film adaptations of several works

Quotes

  • The central character of Maxwell Sim was to be "a product of the social media boom, the sort of person with hundreds of Facebook friends but no one to talk to when his marriage breaks up."
    Source: Latitude Festival reading, 2009 (2009)
  • "I'd love to find a pianist to collaborate with"
    Source: Interview

Trivia

  • Was given the title Duke of Prunes in the kingdom of Redonda (invited by Javier Marías)
  • Married in 1989; has two daughters (born 1997 and 2000)
  • Trustee of the charity Cleared Ground Demining
  • Has described himself as an atheist