Wall of fame Background Information

9.51.58am GMT Wed 9th Nov 2005

The following information may assist with the initial long list.

Tolkien - Novelist (1892 - 1973)

Resident of Birmingham

The well-known author of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit was a major scholar of the English Language. He spent much of his childhood in Birmingham, Worcestershire and the surrounding areas. He attended King Edwards School when the family resided in Kings Heath and Edgbaston. He eventually became a professor of Anglo Saxon studies at Oxford and his books are now known internationally, not only in their literary forms, but more recently via a series of successful films.

Published works include; Farmer Giles of Ham (1949), Lord of The Rings (1954- 55) The Silmarillion (1977), Tree and leaf (1964)

William Shakespeare - Playwright, Poet (1564 - 1616)

Born in Stratford Upon Avon

Possibly one of the most well-known and grandest literary figures of the Western world. He wrote dozens of plays which continue to dominate the world 400 years later. He handled high drama, romance and comedy with equal ease. His quotes have become world famous and renowned. Many of his plays were performed at the Globe Theatre in London. So great was his output that some scholars insist another, greater mind must have written some or all of his plays. Frances Bacon, Christopher Marlow and Edward de Vere have all been candidates, but this theory has never been proved.

Published works include; Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Alls Well That Ends Well, Coriolanus, Hamlet, Richard III.

Philip Larkin - Poet and Novelist (1922-1985)

Born in Coventry, resident of Shropshire

Originally born in Coventry, spent time in the Midlands with his parents who lived in Warwickshire. Worked as a Librarian in Wellington, Shropshire where he wrote and published some of his material. He spent some time at the University College Leicester before moving on to Queens University in Belfast. In 1965 he received the Queens award for poetry and in 1984 he won the W. H Smith Literary Award as well as an honorary doctorate from Oxford University. He received the CBE in 1975 and the German Shakespear-Preis in 1976. In 1984 he was elected to the Board of the British Library, but declined to succeed Sir John Betjeman as Poet Laureate.. His last and most highly prized honour was the Order of the Companion of Honour in June 1985 which he was unable to receive personally owing to terminal illness.

Published works include; A girl In Winter (1947), Novel Jill (1946), Novel. The Less Deceived (1955). Poetry The North Ship (1945) The Oxford Book of Twentieth Century English Verse, compiled by Philip Larkin (1973) The Whitsun Weddings (1964) Poetry

Wilfred Owen -War poet (1893 - 1918)

Resident of Shrewsbury

Wilfred Owen, poet, was born the 18th of March 1893 in Oswestry. . He was the eldest of four children and brought up in the Anglican religion of the Evangelical School. Though he had rejected much of his belief, the influence of his education remains visible in his poems and in their themes: sacrifice, biblical language, his description of Hell. He enlisted in the Artists' Rifles on 21st October 1915; there followed 14 months of training in England. He was drafted to France in 1917, the worst war winter. His total war experiences were short: four months, from which only five weeks in the line. On this is based all his war poetry. After battle experience, thoroughly shocked by horrors of war, he went to Craiglockhart War Hospital near Edinburgh. He was sent back to France, where he was killed in one of the last battles before the war finally ended.

Published works include; Collected letters, edited by Harold Owen and John Bell (1967)

Poems, edited by Jon Stallworthy (1985) The poems of Wilfred Owen, edited by Edmund Blunden (1931) War poems and others, edited by Dominic Hibberd (1973)

Walter Brierley - Social Essayist/Novelist (1900 - 1967)

Born in Derbyshire

Most widely known for his book, The Sandwichman, he was born in the village of Waingroves, Derbyshire. The son of an engine- winder, his first job was a miner where he participated in the Miners Welfare Scholarship attending college one day a week. He began writing in 1931 and became a child welfare officer in 1937, a job which he did up until his death 1967.

Published works include; Means Test Man Derbyshire. The Sandwhichman. Dalby Green & Danny

Walter Allen - Critic and Novelist (1911-1995)

Born in Birmingham

A working class novelist born in Aston, Birmingham. The son of a silversmith, he won a scholarship to Kings Edwards School in Aston. He Graduated from Birmingham University and made a living as a freelance journalist and broadcaster including a stint as Literary Editor for the New Statesman from 1960 to 1961. He also became well known as a broadcaster and lecturer, visiting the U.S.A. from time to time from the mid 1950's. In 1967 he became the first Professor of English Studies at the University of Ulster followed by a final two years teaching in America.

Published works include; Innocence is Drowned (1936) Living Space (193?) Blind Mans Ditch (193?) All in a Lifetime (1959)

John Hampson - Birmingham Inter-Wars Novelist (1901 - 1955)

Born in Birmingham

John was born in Aston, Birmingham. His family made their fortunes in the theatre and brewing industry but lost it all when the business collapsed. He worked in a variety of different jobs, and at one point become so poor that he took to stealing books which led to a prison term in Wormwood Scrubs. It was after leaving prison that he started to write, and although his books were not popular at first, he is now widely read and seen as a worthy contributor to the world of 'working class' literature.

Published works include; Saturday Night at the Greyhound (1931) O Providence (1932) Strip Jack Naked (1934) The Care of 'The Grand' (1939)

Edith Pargeter - Novelist (1913 - 1995)

Born in Shrewsbury

Edith's family were based in Shropshire where her father was a clerk at a local Iron Works. She wrote two novels before the war, the second of which, The City Lies Forsquare, was well received. During the war she worked with the Women's Royal Navy Service in Liverpool where she received the British Empires Medal for devotion to duty. Her greatest character to date is that of Brother Cadfael, a monk at Shrewsbury Abbey who mixed his herbs and unravelled mysteries in an atmospheric setting. She was also awarded an OBE and an honorary Masters Degree from Birmingham University.

Published works include; Hortensius, Friend of Nero (1936) The city Lies Foursquare (1939) A Morbid Taste for Bones (1977)

William Shenstone - Poet (1714-1763)

Born in Halesowen, Worcestershire

Originally from the Halesowen, Worcestershire he was educated at Solihull Grammar School, and then went on to study at Oxford, without taking the degree. His output includes verse, elegies odes, prose and ballads.

Published works include; The judgement of Hercules (1741), The Pastoral Ballad (?)

Meera Syall - Contemporary Novelist - (1963 - present)

Resided in Staffordshire

Actress, writer and novelist who was bought up in Essington, a small mining village in Staffordshire. She first came to prominence when she wrote Bhaji On The Beach (1994) which was the first British feature film written and directed by an Asian woman. More recently she has appeared in the sit-com Goodness Gracious Me, which she co-wrote. Her best selling novel, Anita and Me, won a Betty Trask award in 1996 and was short-listed for the Guardian Fiction prize.

Published works include; Bhaji on the Beach (1994 Film) Anita and Me (1996 Novel) Life Isn't All About Ha Ha Hee Hee (2000) One of Us (Play)

Henry Treece - Historical Novelist for Children (1911-1966)

Born in Wednesbury, Staffordshire

Poet and novelist born in Wednesbury, Staffs. He won a scholarship to Birmingham University to read English, History and Spanish. After his studies he went into teaching. From Shropshire he moved to Tynemouth with his wife, and then in 1938 he moved to Lincolnshire. The main body of his novels were mainly for children and revolved around Viking and Roman Britain.

Published works include; Ask for King Billy (1955) The Black Seasons (1945) [Poetry] Bombard (1959) Viking's Dawn (1955) Viking's Sunset (1960) War Dog (1962)

P. G. Woodhouse - Novelist Poet (1881 - 1975)

Resided in Shropshire

An extremely popular writer of humorous books, he was the son of a Hong Kong civil servant who retired through ill health and came back to England to live in Shropshire. As a result of this move Pelham got to know the district well, and even after moving to Cheltenham he still had great affection for Stableford, which is only a few miles from Bridgnorth. The area became a major setting for his novels along with Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

Published works include; Something Fresh (1915) Leave It To P Smith (1923) Blandings Castle (1935) [Short stories] Summer Lightning (1929) Heavy weather (1933) Lord Emsworth and Others (1937) A Pelican At Blandings (1969) Sunset At Blandings (1977)

Stanley Weyman - Historical and Romance Novelist (1855-1928)

Born in Shropshire

The son of a solicitor, Stanley Weyman was born in Ludlow, Shropshire and educated at Ludlow Grammar School. He studied at Oxford where he read history and then spent 10 years as a barrister before turning to a literary career. A great traveller, his experiences provided him with much of the background for his forte, historical stories and romances he has become well known for. He lived in Ludlow until the late 1890's after which he moved to North Wales.

Published works include; Castle Inn (1898) Count Hannibal (1901) Lively Peggy (1928) The Man In Black (1894) The Wild Geese (1908)

Izaak Walton - Writer (1593-1683)

Born in Staffordshire

Apprenticed at an early age to an Ironmonger in London, he eventually went into trade on his own account. Through his friendship with other authors Michael Drayton, Ben Jonson, Henry Wotton and others he started to write novels. The work for which he is best known for is The Complete Angler, or the Contemplative Man's Recreation, which first appeared in 1653. Criticised by many a fisherman for its technical inaccuracy; it's still considered a good read by many who have never fished.

Published works include; The Life of Sir Henry Wotton (1651) The Compleat Angler (1653) The Life of Dr Sanderson (1678)

Sir Philip Sidney - 16th Century Poet (1554 - 1586)

Resided in Shrewsbury, Ludlow

As a child he visited Ludlow as a result of his fathers position as Lord President of the Council of the Marches whose seat was at Ludlow Castle. He attended school in Shrewsbury and went on to become Sir Philip Sidney. A statue to the poet now stands outside the new Shrewsbury School buildings.

Published works include Arcadia (1590), Astrophel and Stella (1591) Apologie for Poetrie (?)

David Christie Murray - Novelist and Journalist (1847-1907)

Born in West Bromwich, Birmingham

At the age of 12 he left school to work in his fathers printing office which introduced him to the craft of Journalism. He spent time writing for the Wednesbury Advertiser and the Birmingham Morning News. He left West Bromwich to complete his education in business and then, after a brief spell in the army, he returned to Journalism, lecturing and writing novels. He wrote around thirty books which drew heavily on his experiences as a newspaper journalist for plots. He often depicted Staffordshire country life in his stories, particularly that of Cannock Chase and the surrounding countryside.

Published works include; Aunt Rachel (1886) By the gate of the sea (1883) Capful O' Nails * Joseph's coat (1881) A Life's Atonement (1879) Rainbow Gold (1885) Val Strange (1882)

Francis Brett Young - Novelist (1884-1954)

Resided in Halesowen

Novelist, short story writer and poet, he was the son of a doctor. He trained at Birmingham University as a medical doctor. He served in Africa during the First World War in the Medical Corps but was invalided out in 1929 no longer able to practice medicine. After travelling extensively he and his wife settled in Worcestershire. After the Second World War he moved to South Africa where he died, his ashes were returned to England and are in Worcester Cathedral. His books feature the West Country and South Africa, while others are clearly set in the West Midlands and Ludlow, Shropshire.

Published works include; The Black Diamond (1921) Black Roses (1929) The City Of Gold (1939) Cold Harbour (1924) Dark Tower (1914) Deep Sea (1914) Wistanslow Woodsmoke (1924) The Young Physician (1919)

Jerome K. Jerome - Novelist (1859-1927)

Resided in Walsall

Jerome was born in Walsall, Staffordshire. He started his working life a clerk at Euston Railway station. He became an actor but also taught journalism. His first works, On the stage and off (1885) and Idle thoughts of an idle fellow (1886) launched him into the public eye by becoming popular. He contributed and edited The Idler and a weekly magazine called To-day, but was forced to sell his interests following an expensive libel action. From 1897 he concentrated on writing for the theatre. In 1927 he returned to Walsall and was made a Freeman of the Borough of Walsall

Published works include; Three Men In A Boat (1889) The Second Thoughts Of An Idle Fellow (1898) Three Men On The Bummel (1900)

A. E. Houseman - Poet (1859-1936)

Resided in Shropshire

He attended King Edwards School in Worcester and later studied at Oxford where he failed his exams. He then worked for a Patent Office in London and in his spare time worked hard to establish himself as a scholar. He wrote poetry, but it was his brilliant articles on the classics, which gained him a high reputation as an academic and which eventually led to his professorship of Latin at Cambridge. He is more widely known for his romantic poetry about the Shropshire countryside and his wonderful ability to recreate a sense of country life which has passed, if it ever truly existed.

Works include; Collected Poems And Selected Prose, Introductory Lecture, Last poems, Letters of A.E. Houseman, More poems, Selected Prose.

William Langland - Historical Novelist (1331 - 1400)

Resident of Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire

It is suspected that he was born in Shropshire, although Ledbury and Colwall near great Malvern make strong claims to his birth. He is best known for his poem Piers Plowman which is a lengthy verse that he wrote between 1362 and 1392. Through the eyes of a narrator called The Dreamer it tells of the search for Christianity and the path to salvation through a series of eleven visions. The work is second to importance to Chaucer's Cantebury Tales.

Published works include; The Vision Concerning Piers The Plowman

Arnold Bennett - Novelist (1867 - 1931)

Resident of Hanley Staffordshire

Novelist, playwright and journalist was born in Staffordshire. The child of a pawnbroker who eventually became a solicitor, his father would have liked him to follow in his footsteps but Arnold failed the exams and became a solicitor's clerk instead. After moving to London he began to see his articles published in magazines and in 1893 he became the editor of Woman Magazine. He never returned to Staffordshire, but continued to draw inspiration from the area. A prolific author, he wrote thirty novels, some of which were set in the Staffordshire potteries.

Published works include; Anna Of Five Towns (1902) Arnold Bennett in Love (19720 The Card (1911) The Strange Vanguard (1928) The Sinews Of War (1906) Self and Self Management (1918)

David Lodge - Novelist (1935 - present)

Resident of Birmingham

Although not born in the Midlands, he spent most of his working life at the University of Birmingham where he retired in 1987. During that time he has published eleven novels. His style of fiction swings between realism and parodies of literary styles - his knowledge of academic circles has often been used to great effect. He has also written for theatre and television, with several plays turned into screenplay adaptations of his own novels.

Published works include; Changing Places (2004) British Museum Is Falling Down (1965) Changing Places (1975) The Picture Goers (1960) Therapy (1995) Thinks (2001)

Jonathan Coe- Novelist (1961 - present)

Born in Birmingham

Born in Birmingham and educated at Trinity, Cambridge, he taught Poetry at Warwick University. He is an accomplished musician and is now a freelance journalist. He has written five novels and won the Writers Guild Award for best fiction and the Prix Medicis Etranger (France). He has also written two biographies of film actors, Humphrey Bogart and James Stewart. His biography of the novelist B.S Johnson was published in 2004 and won the Samuel Johnson prize.

Published works include; The Accidental Woman (1987), A Touch of Love (1989), The Rotters Club (2001) The Closed Circle (2004)

Jim Crace - Novelist (1946 - present)

Resident of Birmingham

A celebrated novelist, Jim was born in 1946 and raised in Enfield, London. His connection to Birmingham and the West Midlands dates from 1965, when he enrolled at the Birmingham College of Commerce as an external student of London University. After some time abroad he returned and settled in Birmingham. His third novel, Arcadia, is widely recognised by readers as been based in Birmingham. His books are full of politics and social commentary -there is no mistaking the atheistic, libertarian, anti-trade sensibilities which lurk behind them.

Published works include; Continent (1986) The Gift of Stones (1988) Arcadia (1992) Signals of Distress (1994) The Devils Larder (2001)

Rupert Brooke - Poet (1887-1915)

Resident of Rugby

He was born in Rugby where his father was housemaster. A pre war poet, but considered in the same tradition as Wilfred Owen because he wrote 6 war sonnets. His experience of war consisted of one day of limited military action during the evacuation of Antwerp. Whilst travelling Europe he wrote a thesis which won him a fellowship at Kings College Cambridge. He roamed across North America and the South Seas writing for the Westminster Gazette sending back narratives and poems. He unfortunately died of blood poisoning on his way to battle at Gallipoli. His poetry is internationally known.

Published works include; The Treasure (1914) Peace (1915) The Dead (1915)

Judith Cutler - Novelist (1946 - present)

Black Country girl, she has always been a writer. In her late teens she won the Critical Quarterly short story prize, and was published in a number of magazines. During her mid thirties a bout of writers block meant she was not very productive. When she found she could again write short stories, despite the success of them, it took her some time to find a voice as a novelist. Most of her books celebrate her work as a lecturer at Birmingham's Mathew Boulton College and other aspects of Birmingham and the Black Country life. Although no longer living in the Midlands, Cutler will continue to feature the Midlands in her writing whenever she can.

Published works include; Dying Fall (1995), Dying to Write (1996), Dying on Principle (1996), Ding for Millions (1997), Will Power (2001) Head Over Heels (2001)

Roshan Doug - Contemporary Poet (1963 - present)

Resident of Birmingham

Roshan was originally from Jalander, India before moving to Birmingham. He studied at Lancaster and Birmingham Universities and is now a Professor of Poetry at the University of Central England. In October 2000 he became the fifth Poet Laureate Birmingham, a post created and maintained to raise the profile of poetry. He is the Arts Editor of Spice Lifestyle, an Asian cultural magazine published in Britain.

Published collections include; Thicker than Water (1998) The English Knowing Man (1999) The Delicate Falling Of A God (2003)

Roi Kwabena Contemporary Poet (1956 - present)

Resided in Birmingham

Trinidadian born. He came to England after political and cultural activity in his home country. As a poet, musician, storyteller, historian and publisher, Roi describes himself as a cultural activist. As a lecturer he has conducted workshops internationally. His works include CD's in a distinctive style of dialogue, drama and rhythm.

Published works include; A Job For The Hangman, Letter from Sea Lots, Obeah Man, No Hearts, Mugran Based, Aberystwyth.

Benjamin Zephaniah - Contemporary Poet, Author (1958 - present)

Resided in Birmingham

Jamaican born Benjamin Zephaniah came to England when he was two years old and lived in Handsworth Birmingham. He had a difficult time as a child, being sent to a reform school and eventually winding up in prison for a crime he did not commit. When released he moved to London 1979 and became involved in a workers co-operative which led to the publication of his first book of poetry. Since that time, he has acted, performed on stage and become well known as a radio broadcaster.

Published works include; Gangsta Rap (2004) Refugee Boy (2001) The Bloomsbury Book of Love Poems (1999) The Little Book Of Vegan Poems (2001)

David Edgar - Playwright (1948 - present)

Resident of Birmingham

After studying drama at Manchester University his started writing professionally as a journalist in Bradford. It was at this time he developed his radical writing style for stage. His first real success came in 1976 with the play Destiny which explored British Fascism. He continues to write for the stage, radio and television and has been teaching at Birmingham University since 1989.

Published works include; Destiny (1976) Dick Deterred; a play in two acts (1974) Wreckers (1977)

George Eliot - Novelist (1819 - 1880)

Mary Anne Evans was forced to write under the name of George Eliot to hide her identity as she took up with here married lover George Henry Lewes; a move which extradited her from society. It was under his direction that she started to write fiction novels that became very popular. Her fame eventually bought her acceptance in a world which had earlier condemned her. After being ostracised by her family for the illicit union, she never returned to the Warwickshire that she loved. She died in 1880 and was buried in London. It took a hundred years for her to be finally recognised by way of a memorial stone which was erected to her in Poets Corner in the Abbey of Westminster.

Published works include; Scenes of Clerical Life (1858) Adam Bede (1859) Middlemarch (1871-2) The Mill On The Floss (1860)

John Jeffery Farnol - Novelist (1878-1952)

Born in Aston Birmingham

An author of Romantic adventure stories - he was born in Aston, Birmingham. After spending some time in America his returned to England after the successful publication of first novel. Known for his likeable yarns of the open road set in an historical context, often in the Georgian Regency period , his books are still read today.

Published works include; Adam Penfeather, Buccaneer, Beltane The Smith (1915) The Geste of Duke Jocelyn (1919) Peregrines Progress (1922) Waif Of The River.

Aston Birmingham

Ellen Thorneycroft Fowler - Novelist and Poet (1860 - 1929)

Born in Wolverhampton

A Wolverhampton girl, she was the daughter of the first mayor of Wolverhampton. She was educated at home with her sister, although she later attended private school in London in her teens. Both sisters were encouraged to write from an early age and Ellen made up stories and poems which she contributed to magazines and periodicals. Her imaginative writing, with a Christian outlook but without preaching, is sprinkled with interesting characters from all classes of society. There are plenty of twists in the stories accompany the use of scenes we can still recognise today.

Published works include; Verses and Grave and Gay (1891) A Double Thread (1899) The Farringdons (1900) The Lower Pool (1923) Signs and Wonders (1926)

William Hazlitt - Poet, Critic and Essayist (1778 - 1830)

Resided in Shrewsbury

Though he was born in Maidstone, he spent much of his childhood in Shropshire where he was educated at private school. He was an admirer of Taylor Coleridge. At the age of 19 he had embarked on a literary career and he soon became a friend of the Romantic poets.

Published works include; Sketches and Essays, The Spirit of The Age (1825)

Meg Hutchinson - Novelist (1933 - present)

Born in the Black Country

Now living in Shropshire, Meg spent her childhood in Wednesbury. She left school at 15 with no qualifications, but returned to education at the age 0f 33. She taught for twenty years and it was only when she retired that she tried to get her work published. Her novels are of the blockbuster style, dramatic backdrops of the Black Country, with the industrial settings of mining villages with bold characters and exciting plots. More recently she has broken into crime writing.

Published works include; Abel's Daughter, Bitter Seed, For The Sake of Her Child, A Promise Given.

Kathleen Dayus - Novelist (1903 - 2003)

(Birmingham working class)

Kathleen's first book was not published until she was in her eighties. Five other non-fiction books and a novel were to follow, the last one being in 2003 when she died just before her hundredth birthday. Born to a working class family in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, as a child, she would hide a dictionary under the floorboards away from her mother who thought writing was a waste of time. Only after her second husband died, in her seventies did she begin to write.

Published works include; Where There's Life (1985), The Ghost of Yesteryear (2001), The Best of Times (1997). All My Days (1991)

William Hutton - Historical Novelist, Poet and Topographer (1723 - 1815)

Born Derbyshire, Resided in Birmingham

As a young boy who ran away from his uncle, he taught himself to bind books in Southwell, about 14 miles from Nottingham. This business was not successful, and a year after it had folded he moved to Birmingham and started to write for magazines. In 1750 he opened a small bookshop and eventually opened the first paper warehouse in Birmingham. His venture into paper milling failed but the paper selling business thrived enough to offer him the opportunity to move into land speculating. He had two large houses in Birmingham, and wrote books based on his observations and factual content. In his later years he spent some time travelling with his daughter, Catherine Hutton, who became an author in her own right.

Published works include; The History of Birmingham (1781) Journey to London (1784) Courts of Requests (1787) tour to Scarborough (1803) Poems, chiefly tales (1804) Trip to Coatham (1808)

Catherine Hutton - Novelist (1756 - 1846)

Born in Birmingham

The only daughter of William Huttun, seventeenth century poet and typographer from Birmingham. Catherine was a writer with many literary connections. During her lifetime she wrote to many famous people and collected over 2000 valuable letters. A selection of which have been published. Although she suffered ill health throughout her life she lived until she was almost ninety, she died in the family home in Bennetts Hill in Birmingham. She never married.

Published works include; The Miser Married (1813) The Welsh Mountaineer, the life of Willam Hutton (1816) The History of Birmingham (1819)

Mary Webb - (1881-1927)

Born in Shropshire

Mary was the eldest child of six children. She was educated in her father's school where she discovered the beauty of English classical literature. In her teens she went to finishing school at Southport, her first period away from home. She missed the Shropshire countryside which was had a huge influence on her and this is seen in some of her early poetry. After marrying she moved to Weston Super -Mare which is where she began writing her first novel. She won Prix Femina, a coveted literary prize for her fifth novel, Precious Bane, a story of rural Shropshire in the early nineteenth century. She never finished her sixth book as she died at the age of forty-six, she was buried at Shrewsbury Cemetery. Her death went unnoticed until the prime minister at the time Stanley Baldwin paid tribute to her in a speech at the Royal Literary Fund Dinner that she was finally recognised as a neglected genius.

Published works include; Armour Wherein He Trusted (1929) The Golden Arrow (1916) Gone To Earth (1917) Precious Band (1924) The Spring of Joy (1917)

Hasrat Sultan Bahu

There is a Hasrat Sultan Bahu trust in Birmingham.