James Clavell
James Clavell was a prominent Australian author and screenwriter, born in 1925 into a military family. His early life was marked by significant trauma, as he fought in World War II and was captured by the Japanese, spending three and a half years in Changi prison. This harrowing experience profoundly shaped his understanding of survival and moral dilemmas, which became central themes in his writing. After the war, Clavell ventured into the film industry, achieving fame as a screenwriter for classics like *The Great Escape* and *To Sir with Love*. A writers' strike in the 1960s prompted him to transition to novel writing, resulting in bestsellers such as *King Rat* and *Tai-Pan*, both of which explored the interplay of Eastern and Western cultures.
His most acclaimed work, *Shogun*, is a historical novel set in feudal Japan that follows the journey of an Englishman navigating a foreign and honor-driven society. Clavell's storytelling is characterized by intricate plots, richly developed characters, and vivid settings, often reflecting the clash of ideologies. Throughout his career, he received numerous accolades, including honorary doctorates from universities, and his legacy as a storyteller continues to influence readers and writers alike. Clavell passed away in 1994, leaving behind a body of work that invites reflection on cultural conflicts and human resilience.
On this Page
Subject Terms
James Clavell
- Born: October 19, 1924
- Birthplace: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Died: September 7, 1994
- Place of death: Vevey, Switzerland
Biography
James Clavell, one of the most widely read authors of the twentieth century, was born in Australia in 1925. He was the son and grandson of career military men. After completing secondary school, Clavell joined the Royal Artillery in 1940 and was wounded while fighting against the Japanese in Malaysia. As a Japanese prisoner, Clavell was sent to the brutal Changi prison near Singapore, where he was held for three and half years. Out of one hundred fifty thousand prisoners, he was one of only ten thousand to survive the incarceration. Clavell’s horrific experiences in Changi greatly influenced his understanding of survival and the moral choices people make in extreme circumstances. Clavell has described Changi prison as his “university.”
After his discharge from the military in 1946 (after a motorcycle accident), Clavell briefly attended Birmingham University before quitting to work in the movie industry. He and his wife (April Stride, whom he married in 1951) immigrated to the United States in 1953, where he eventually worked as a screenwriter in Hollywood. He was immensely successful as a screenwriter, and scripted such classics as The Fly, The Great Escape (for which he won a Writers Guild Best Screenplay Award in 1963), and To Sir with Love.
A screenwriters’ strike in 1960 pushed Clavell to start writing novels. He began with a best-seller based on his ordeal in Changi prison called King Rat. The novel began several themes that would endure throughout Clavell’s subsequent fiction: Westerners placed in an exotic and dangerous setting; a clash between Eastern and Western values and culture; and moral and ethical crises precipitated by a struggle to survive. Clavell followed this success with the best- selling Tai-Pan, a novel set in 1841 that centered on the political and personal machinations surrounding the founding of Hong Kong. Clavell’s use of a detailed historical setting, his portrayal of the excesses and successes of early capitalism, and his melodramatic plotting would become hallmarks of his fiction.
Clavell’s most famous and critically respected work is Shogun, a meticulously researched historical novel based on the true story of an Englishman who goes to feudal Japan in 1600. The novel’s main character is John Blackthorne, who is thrown into the alien and honor-driven world of the Samurai. Blackthorne must question himself and his native culture as he tries to survive in a world of vastly different beliefs. Shogun’s cinematic style and frenetic plot helped Clavell turn it into a very successful television miniseries in 1980.
Although he did not match the success of Shogun, Clavell went on to publish such best sellers as Nobel House, James Clavell’s Whirlwind, and James Clavell’s Gai-Jin: A Novel of Japan, each of which bears the classic earmarks of Clavell’s fiction. Before he died in 1994, Clavell was honored for his work with honorary doctorates from the University of Maryland and the University of Bradford. As an immensely popular writer, Clavell will long be remembered as a storyteller in the grandest sense; he created intricate plots, exotic locations, and fascinating characters on an epic scales. His works will stand as thoughtful and fascinating studies of the clash of cultures and ideologies.