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Richard Mason

リチャード・メイソン

Richard Mason

Pen Names: Richard Lakin（Pseudonym used early in career (used for some mystery novels)）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1919-05-16 （Hale, Greater Manchester, England）
Died
1997-10-13 （Rome, Italy） age 78
Nationality
United Kingdom
Languages
English
Residence History
Hale (birthplace) → India (served/posted during WWII) → Hong Kong (wrote The World of Suzie Wong) → Rome (long-term residence and studio) → Wales (ran an estate and kept sheep) → Elba (creative isolation period)

Career

Occupations
novelist, screenwriter, Royal Air Force officer (intelligence), sculptor, traveller
Active Years
1943-1962
Affiliations
British Council (worked), Royal Air Force (served)
Influenced By
W. H. Auden

Education

The Downs Malvern (boarding school)
Period: 1928–1933
Year of Graduation: 1933
Country: England
Taught by W. H. Auden during school years
Bryanston School
Period: 1933–1936
Year of Graduation: 1936
Country: England
Published articles in local press and film magazines

Awards

John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
1948
Work: The Wind Cannot Read
Organization: Unknown
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Body Fell on Berlin

1943 mystery

A wartime murder mystery featuring an intelligence officer formerly of Scotland Yard who becomes embroiled in a suspicious death.

wartime human relationsinvestigation and mystery

The Wind Cannot Read

1946 romance / wartime fiction

Based partly on Mason's wartime experiences in India; a romance involving a British officer trained in Japanese. Mason also worked on the screenplay for the 1958 film adaptation.

cross-cultural romanceeffects of war
Adaptations
  • [film] The Wind Cannot Read (film) (1958)

Angel Take Care

1947 mystery with comic elements

A charming mystery about a newly married detective couple investigating a disappearance; originally published under a pseudonym.

detective fictionmarital partnership

The Shadow and the Peak

1949 fiction (exotic location)

Set in Jamaica, focusing on landscape and psychological portraiture; adapted for film in 1958.

life abroadpsychological characterisation
Adaptations
  • [film] Passionate Summer (1958)

The World of Suzie Wong

1957 romance / social novel

Mason's best-known work about the tender romance between a Hong Kong prostitute, Suzie Wong, and a British artist. It became a bestseller and was adapted for Broadway (1958) and film (1960).

cross-cultural romanceeconomic hardship and social classpsychological characterisation
Adaptations
  • [play] The World of Suzie Wong (Broadway) (1958)
  • [film] The World of Suzie Wong (film) / Richard Quine (1960)

The Fever Tree

1962 espionage / adventure

An espionage novel set in India and Nepal, written in 1961 and published in 1962; regarded as Mason's last major novel.

espionageisolation and pursuit

Bibliography

  • The Body Fell on Berlin (1943, as Richard Lakin)
  • The Wind Cannot Read (1946)
  • Angel Take Care (1947, as Richard Lakin)
  • The Shadow and the Peak (1949)
  • The World of Suzie Wong (1957)
  • The Fever Tree (1962)

Adaptations

  • The World of Suzie Wong adapted for Broadway (1958) and film (1960)
  • The Wind Cannot Read (film, 1958)
  • The Shadow and the Peak adapted as Passionate Summer (film, 1958)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
psychologically rich characterisationclear, readable prosevivid depictions of exotic locales
Recurring Motifs
cross-cultural romancestravel and wanderingeffects of wartime experienceloneliness and search for belonging

Health

  • head and neck cancer / lung cancer
    晩年（詳細不明）
    A long history of smoking; ultimately died of cancer

Legacy

Richard Mason is known for his novels set in exotic locales with strong psychological characterisation. The World of Suzie Wong became an international bestseller and, through stage and film adaptations, left a lasting cultural impact. His work provoked debate but contributed phrases and images to popular culture.

Archives

  • Protestant Cemetery, Rome (burial site; headstone noted)

In Popular Culture

  • "Suzie Wong" entered Western popular culture as a stereotype referring to an alluring East Asian woman

Quotes

  • On his headstone is inscribed: "Though on the sign it is written: 'Don't pluck these blossoms'—it is useless against the wind, which cannot read."
    Source: Inscription on headstone, Protestant Cemetery, Rome (1997)

Trivia

  • Wrote a juvenile novel around age 14 which is now lost
  • The Wind Cannot Read won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 1948
  • Published early works under the pen name Richard Lakin
  • The World of Suzie Wong was adapted for stage and film; Nancy Kwan had her first film role in the movie
  • Longtime smoker; died of head and neck / lung cancer