Stanley Middleton
Stanley Middleton was a notable British novelist born in 1919 in Nottingham, England. He was educated at High Pavement School and University College, Nottingham, earning his B.A. in 1940 and an M.Ed. in 1952. Throughout his career, Middleton produced a significant body of work, publishing his first novel, "A Short Answer," in 1958. His writing predominantly features settings in Nottingham and delves into themes of middle-class life, focusing on complex relationships and family dynamics. Middleton's novels often present a dark and unsentimental perspective, examining issues such as infidelity and communication breakdowns, as seen in works like "Two's Company" and "The Other Side." Despite a prolific output, including nearly a novel a year during the 1970s, he did not achieve the same level of popularity or critical acclaim as some of his contemporaries. However, he was recognized with the Booker McConnell Prize in 1974 for his novel "Holiday." Middleton's literary contributions continue to offer a profound exploration of everyday life and human flaws.
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Stanley Middleton
- Born: August 1, 1919
- Birthplace: Nottingham, England
- Died: July 25, 2009
- Place of death: Nottingham, England
Biography
Stanley Middleton was born in 1919 in Nottingham, England, the son of Thomas Middleton, a railway worker, and Elizabeth Ann Burdett Middleton. He was educated at the High Pavement School and University College, Nottingham. He received his B.A. in 1940 and his M.Ed. in 1952. In 1951, he married Margaret Shirley Welch, with whom he had two daughters, Penelope Jane, and Sarah Ursula Judith. He served in the British Army’s Royal Artillery and in the Army Education Corps. He also served as head of the English Department at his alma mater, High Pavement College, from 1958 to 1981. He was the Judith E. Wilson visiting fellow at Cambridge College in the 1982-1983 academic year.
Middleton published his first novel, A Short Answer, in 1958, marking the beginning of a prolific career. He produced a novel a year during the 1970’s, and nearly that many in the following two decades. His novels, most of which take place in his home and birthplace of Nottingham, offer a dark, unsentimental view of English middle-class life, concentrating largely upon the relationship between the sexes and family dynamics. His uncompromising examination of human shortcomings refuses to shy away from painful truths. Novels such as Two’s Company (1963) and The Other Side (1980) explore troubled male-female relationships, focusing on infidelity and lack of communication, while The Golden Evening (1968) and Ends and Means (1977) deal with extended family drama. His novels also often feature artistic and musical protagonists, including Two Brothers (1978) and In a Strange Land (1979).
Middleton enjoyed neither the popular nor critical success of many of his contemporaries, perhaps due to the often skeptical, rather cold tone of his work, which is concerned with the very unglamorous minutiae of ordinary provincial life. He did, however, receive the 1974 Booker McConnell Prize for fiction (shared with Nadine Gordiner) for Holiday.