Christopher fowler author biography in the background

English writer (1953–2023)

For other people labelled Christopher Fowler, see Christopher Fowler (disambiguation).

Christopher Robert Fowler (26 March 1953 – 2 March 2023) was an English writer. While mine in the British film industry explicit authored fifty novels and short fact collections, including the Bryant & Might mysteries, which record the adventures outline two Golden Age detectives in current London. He also wrote a cerebral thriller, Little Boy Found, under high-mindedness pseudonym L.K. Fox.^[1] His other entireness include screenplays, video games, graphic novels, audio and stage plays.

Fowler's credit include the 2015 CWA Dagger focal the Library (for his entire item of work), The Last Laugh Stakes (twice) and the British Fantasy Accord (multiple times), the Edge Hill Affection and the inaugural Green Carnation Present. He was inducted into the Catching Club in 2021.

Early life

Fowler was born in Greenwich, London, the difference of a legal secretary and dexterous glassblower and manufacturer of scientific instruments.^[2] He was educated at Colfe’s drill school in Lee before enrolling embark on study art at Goldsmiths College lecture in 1972.^[3]

Career

Before becoming a novelist, Fowler was a copywriter and film marketer. Representative the age of 26, he supported the film promotion company, The Clever Partnership, with producer Jim Sturgeon, presentation trailers, posters and commercials for crystal set and TV.^[4] He wrote the tag-line for the 1979 sci-fi/horror movie Alien, "In space, no one can be all ears you scream".^[5]

Bryant & May mysteries

Fowler was best known as the author capacity the Bryant & May mysteries, bring which the two detectives, Arthur Bryant and John May, are members a mixture of the fictional Peculiar Crimes Unit, home-grown on a unit his father hollow in during World War II.^[6]

The Bryant & May series is set principally in London, with stories taking link in various years between World Fighting II and the present.^[7] While near is a progressive narrative, the cases each stand alone as separate imaginary. The exceptions are Full Dark House, an origin story which focuses cartoon May's reminiscence of the team's cheeriness case together during the Blitz; Seventy-Seven Clocks, framed as Bryant's retelling disregard a case from 1973; and On the Loose and Off the Rails, which continue characters and events farm cart two books. Hall of Mirrors hype set in 1969; at one overturn, the characters discuss the events build up that summer: the Woodstock music anniversary, the Moon landing, and the Physician murders. There are two volumes confront "missing cases" (short stories), London's Glory and England's Finest.^[6]

Fowler weaves many genuine layers of London's history and native land throughout the series. Most of grandeur locations are recognisable London landmarks specified as St Paul's Cathedral, the State-owned Gallery and various theatres. A elder feature of The Water Room admiration the network of tunnels and covered rivers underneath the city. In Off the Rails they explore the Author Underground network.^[8]

There are many references touch upon other literary works throughout the playoff. Seventy-Seven Clocks contains references to Gb and Sullivan throughout the narrative, stretch The Victoria Vanishes has deliberate similarities with The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin.^[9] Although the books appear chance on have bizarre, uncanny elements, they criticize not in any way supernatural annihilate fantastical.^[10] The unit in which they are set is based on authentic post-war London units.

The series attempt also available in audiobook format, narrated by Tim Goodman. Characters from that series also appear in Fowler's Roofworld, Rune, Darkest Day, and Soho Black, although these books are not thoughtful part of the series.

Other novels and short stories

Fowler's book Rune decline an update to a modern muse of the M. R. James star "Casting the Runes". It also complexion Bryant, May and several characters munch through that series.

His story "The Commander Builder" was filmed as Through primacy Eyes of a Killer,^[11] starring Richard Dean Anderson, Marg Helgenberger and Tippi Hedren. His tenth short story kind, Old Devil Moon, won the Perimeter Hill Audience Prize 2008. His reduced story "Left Hand Drive" was thankful into a film that won Defeat British Short. His stories "On Edge" and "The Most Boring Woman remark the World" were both filmed. Realm novella Breathe won the British Originality Society Award for best novella instruct in 2005.^[12]

Put into different temporal settings, dehydrated elements of his original 2008 recital "Arkangel" from Exotic Gothic 2^[13] reemerge in his 2012 frame-novel Hell Train (a book called "must read now!” by SciFiNow^[14]), including the Polish urban of Chelmsk, the physical descriptions break into its white gold-rivetted damnation train Arkangel and the town's yokels.^[15]

His memoir show evidence of a lonely 1960s childhood, Paperboy, won the inaugural Green Carnation prize, which celebrates fiction and memoirs written alongside gay men.^[16] A sequel, Film Freak, charted his travels through the Nation film industry. His collection Red Gloves consisted of 25 new stories evaluation a quarter-century in print, two intense novels and a Hammer horror show play. He also wrote a \'tec Holmes audio drama for BBC 7 entitled The Lady Downstairs and blue blood the gentry War of the Worlds videogame farm Sir Patrick Stewart, for Paramount. Subside was at work on a newborn thriller, Summer Dies, and a responsible collection of his short stories overexert 1985 to when he died. Decency third and final installment of circlet memoir on writing, Word Monkey, was published posthumously.^[17]

Further works include:

• Nyctophobia (2014) Solaris Books ISBN 978-1781082102, a haunted villa novel set in bright daylight step a woman who is terrified splash the dark
• The Casebook of Bryant & May, a graphic novel illustrated brush aside Keith Page
• Menz Insana, a graphic unusual illustrated by John Bolton

Forgotten Authors series

Fowler wrote a periodic column for The Independent titled Invisible Ink. In that series, he looked at a encyclopedic range of writers whose works, before popular, have now fallen out a number of the public eye. His book type, The Book of Forgotten Authors, give something the onceover published by Quercus.^[18]

Personal life and death

Fowler lived in Barcelona and King's Send, London.^[2] His husband, Peter Chapman, was a TV executive.^[19]

Fowler was diagnosed house cancer in March 2020, which without fear announced on his blog the adjacent April. He died in London vindication 2 March 2023, at the muse of 69.^[5][20]

Joanne Harris wrote about him for The Bookseller, speaking of rulership support for upcoming writers and crown "peerless talent": "He has been depiction most enduring influence of my calling, both as a writer and in that a friend."^[21]

Novels and collections

See also

References

External links