Brian Cleeve
Brian Cleeve (1921-1996) was an English-Irish author and journalist, known for his diverse literary contributions and his outspoken views on social issues. Born in Essex, he had an Irish father and an English mother, and he spent significant parts of his early life in both England and Ireland. After serving in the British Merchant Navy and Military Intelligence during World War II, Cleeve began his career as a freelance journalist in South Africa, where he faced expulsion for his anti-racist activism. He subsequently moved to Ireland, where he continued his journalistic work and earned a Ph.D. from the National University of Ireland.
Cleeve is perhaps best known for his novels, particularly the Sean Ryan series, which blends crime and thriller elements with deeper explorations of good and evil, as well as moral conflict. His works often tackled pressing social issues like racism and women's oppression, rejecting the romanticized image of Ireland to highlight modern challenges. In the later part of his career, he delved into mystical and metaphysical themes, writing about spirituality and urging readers to embrace a faith-centered life. Cleeve's complex legacy reflects both his literary achievements and his commitment to addressing societal injustices.
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Brian Cleeve
Writer
- Born: November 22, 1921
- Birthplace: Essex, England
- Died: 2003
Biography
Born in Essex, England, in 1921, Brian Cleeve was the son of an Irish father, Charles Cleeve, who was a member of a well-known toffee-manufacturing family based in Limerick, and an English mother, Josephine (Talbot) Cleeve. He was educated at Selwyn House, Broadstairs, Kent (1930-1935), and St. Edward’s School, Oxford (1935-1938). After joining the British Merchant Navy at seventeen, he also served in Military Intelligence and the King’s African Rifles during World War II (1938-1945). In 1945 he married Veronica McAdie, a business director; the couple had two daughters. While working as a freelance journalist in South Africa (1948-1954), he continued his education at the University of South Africa, Johannesburg (1951-1953), where he earned a B.A. in 1953. Cleeve was expelled from South Africa for speaking out against racism and cruelty, and so he and his family moved to Ireland in 1954. He continued working as a journalist while attending the National University of Ireland (1954-1956), which awarded him a Ph.D. in 1956. In 1962 he joined the fledgling Radio Telefis Eireann (RTE) in Dublin as a broadcaster; he remained there until 1972.
By the time he left RTE, Cleeve had published his three-volume Dictionary of Irish Writers as well as the first two novels featuring his cynical series character Sean Ryan, ex-Irish revolutionary. Ryan, released from prison to join British Intelligence as an undercover operative, faces diabolical enemies who coldheartedly use horrific methods of torture to meet their goals. While the villains plan and enjoy inflicting pain, Ryan is also capable of great violence, although it is generally reflexive and defensive. Nonetheless, Ryan agonizes over the effects of his wild temper, the usefulness of the work he does, and his position as an Irishman in the British organization. Cleeve noted that the direct conflict between good and evil was the source of the appeal crime and thriller stories held for him. Cleeve’s story “Foxer” was nominated for the Best Short Story Edgar award in 1966.
That conflict is apparent even in Cleeve’s romances, which he said he wrote “by mistake”—he was planning to write a historical family saga, but the heroine, Sara, took over. Cleeve used fiction to examine social issues much as Dickens did, exposing and exploring social and political oppression, with special interests in racism and in the subjugation of women by society and religion. In his Irish novels, as well as in his nonfiction A View of the Irish, Cleeve rejects the myth of an idyllic Ireland and shows how this idealized image has contributed to the problems of the modern nation and the often self-destructive Irish character.
In the 1980’s, Cleeve published several books that he characterized as mystical or metaphysical. These included novels set in Jerusalem around the time of the Crucifixion of Jesus and treatises that Cleeve called “conversations with his Maker.” In these works, he said that God told him, “Only the Catholic Faith contains the entire Truth.” Although these works present a somewhat unorthodox view of spirituality, Cleeve intended to urge readers to turn to God in service and reject selfish ways.