Bill Naughton
Bill Naughton was an Irish-born writer whose formative years were spent in Bolton, Lancashire, England. Coming from a working-class background, Naughton held various jobs, including coal bagger and truck driver, while nurturing his passion for writing during the evenings. His literary career began in the 1940s, with his debut novel, "A Roof over Your Head" (1945), which was inspired by the British Mass Observation movement and showcased his ability to depict the harsh realities of the working class without sentimentality. Naughton's storytelling is notable for its emotional restraint and vivid imagery, as seen in his short story collection, "Late Night on Watling Street, and Other Stories" (1959).
In addition to prose, Naughton ventured into radio and stage plays in the 1950s, achieving acclaim with works like "The Mystery," which won the Prix Italia in 1973. His play "Alfie" (1963), a comedic yet thought-provoking exploration of morality, was adapted into a novel and a successful film featuring Michael Caine. Throughout his career, Naughton produced a variety of children’s literature, radio, and television scripts, culminating in three autobiographical volumes published between 1987 and 1995. His work reflects the complexities of family dynamics and societal change, leaving a lasting impact on British literature and theater.
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Subject Terms
Bill Naughton
Playwright
- Born: June 12, 1910
- Birthplace: Ballyhaunis, County Mayo, Ireland
- Died: January 9, 1992
Biography
Born in County Mayo, Ireland, but raised in Bolton, Lancashire, England, William John Francis Naughton, the son of a working class family, spent the first three decades of his life employed variously as a bagger of coal, a weaver, and a truck driver. He worked diligently to develop his craft as a writer, writing at night after long days of working hard at the various occupations he pursued. He began to publish his writing in the 1940’s.
His first book, the novel A Roof over Your Head (1945), was produced at the behest of Charles Madge, one of the founders of the British Mass Observation movement of the 1930’s, with which Naughton was also affiliated. Madge, a sociologist and poet, was impressed by Naughton’s ability to write dispassionately about the effects of the Depression and massive unemployment on the working class. Naughton was particularly effective in capturing the cadences of the proletarian vernacular in which he himself was steeped. In A Roof over Your Head, he reported facts objectively, eschewing sentimentality in favor of stark, accurate representation.
Naughton’s short stories also are characterized by emotional restraint. In a collection of his short stories, Late Night on Watling Street, and Other Stories (1959), his physical descriptions are so vivid and accurate that Naughton evokes the feeling created by a fine painting. Many of the stories in this collection, which represent his finest work, are outgrowths of incidents drawn from his experience as a worker.
In the mid-1950’s, Naughton began to write plays for radio, one of which, The Mystery, brought him the Prix Italia in 1973. He also began to write stage plays at about this time, producing My Flesh, My Blood in 1957. This play was a success. In revised form and under two different titles, it continued to be performed until the 1967 revision entitled Keep It in the Family. This comedy revolves around a Lancashire father who demands that his daughter eat herrings that she does not want to eat. Through this simple conflict, Naughton reveals a great deal about the dynamics of family life in the part of England with which he was familiar.
Naughton’s play Alfie (1963) was precisely right for a time when the sexual habits of society were changing. Alfie is a devout womanizer who must eventually face the moral issues that his behavior generates. The play, light and humorous, also has a serious side that questions the ethics of philandering. Naughton turned the stage play into a novel that he published in 1966 and wrote the film script for the motion picture that was produced in 1966 with actorMichael Caine playing an unforgettable Alfie. Naughton continued to produce stories, books for children, plays, and shows for radio and television. His most outstanding writing, however, is found in the three autobiographical volumes that were published, the last one posthumously, between 1987 and 1995.