Commonwealth Writers' Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 7 (1993) Winner
Lee Langley
リー・ラングレー
Rī Rangurē
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India
- Nationality
- British
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Richmond, London
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, writer, screenwriter, journalist
- Active Years
- 1987-
- Memberships
- Royal Society of Literature (Fellow)
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Writers' Guild Award (Best Fiction) | Persistent Rumours | Best Fiction | Writers' Guild (UK) | winner |
| — | Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Eurasia Region, Best Book) | Persistent Rumours | Eurasia Region, Best Book | Commonwealth Writers' Prize | winner |
| 1996 | Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature | — | — | Royal Society of Literature | elected |
Writers' Guild Award (Best Fiction)
Work:
Persistent Rumours
Category:
Best Fiction
Organization:
Writers' Guild (UK)
Result:
winner
Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Eurasia Region, Best Book)
Work:
Persistent Rumours
Category:
Eurasia Region, Best Book
Organization:
Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Result:
winner
Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
1996
Organization:
Royal Society of Literature
Result:
elected
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Changes of Address
1987 autobiographical novelA largely autobiographical novel reflecting the author's childhood in India, exploring family relationships and identity across India and Britain.
migrationmemoryfamilyidentity
Persistent Rumours
1992 novelA novel weaving personal histories with social change; it was highly praised and received awards at the time of publication.
historyfamilyrumour and memory
A House in Pondicherry
1995 novelSet in India, this novel explores intersecting cultural and personal histories.
place and memorycolonial legacy
Distant Music
2001 historical novelA long novel spanning six centuries from 15th-century Madeira to London in 2000, tracing the passage of time and connections to music and art.
passage of timemusicart
A Conversation on the Quai Voltaire
2006 historical novelSet in 18th- and 19th-century Paris, Italy, Russia and Egypt, it recreates the life of Dominique Vivant Denon, a significant figure in French art history.
art historybiographical elementscultural exchange
Butterfly's Shadow
2010 novelSet in mid-20th-century America and Japan, the novel uses Puccini's 'Madama Butterfly' as a springboard to imagine a future for its characters.
music and operacross-cultural relationstime and imagination
Bibliography
- Changes of Address
- Persistent Rumours
- A House in Pondicherry
- Distant Music
- A Conversation on the Quai Voltaire
- Butterfly's Shadow
Adaptations
- Television adaptation of Graham Greene's 'The Tenth Man' (screenplay)
- Television adaptations of stories by Rumer Godden (screenplay)
- Television adaptation of Barbara Taylor Bradford's 'A Woman of Substance' (screenplay)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- historical, cross-period narrationdetailed characterisationbroad temporal and geographical scope
- Recurring Motifs
- memory and the pastmovement and belongingmusic and art
Legacy
A British writer born in India, Langley is recognised for blending personal history with broader historical narratives. Her awards include recognition from the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and the Writers' Guild, and she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature; she is noted for internationally scoped historical novels.
Academic Societies
- Royal Society of Literature
Trivia
- Born in Calcutta (Kolkata).
- 'Persistent Rumours' is reported to have won the Writers' Guild Award and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Eurasia Region, Best Book).
- Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1996.
- Has worked as a screenwriter for television adaptations (e.g., Graham Greene, Rumer Godden).
- Lives in Richmond, London.