Annabel Abbs Explained

Annabel Abbs
Birth Place:Bristol, England
Occupation:Writer
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Mother:Barbara Abbs
Father:Peter Abbs

Annabel Abbs (born 20 October 1964) is an English writer and novelist.

Early life

The daughter of poet and academic, Professor Peter Abbs and gardening writer, Barbara Abbs, Annabel Abbs lives in London and East Sussex. She is the eldest of three children and was born in Bristol. She grew up in Bristol, Dorset, Wales, and Lewes in East Sussex.[1] [2] She attended Lewes Priory school[3] and has a BA in English Literature from the University of East Anglia, and an MA from Kingston University.[1]

Career

Her first novel, The Joyce Girl, was published in 2016 and tells a fictionalised story of Lucia Joyce, daughter of James Joyce.[4] [5] [6] [7] It won the Impress Prize for New Writers,[8] [9] [10] the Spotlight First Novel Award,[10] was longlisted for the Bath Novel Award,[8] the Caledonia Novel Award and the Waverton Good Read Award.[9] [10] The Joyce Girl was a Reader Pick in The Guardian 2016 and was one of ten books selected for presentation at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival, where it was given Five Stars by the Hollywood Reporter.[11] The Joyce Girl was published in the UK, Ireland, Australia,[12] [13] New Zealand,[14] Germany, Turkey,[15] Spain, South America, Bulgaria, Poland and Russia. The Historical Novel Society described The Joyce Girl as "the best 20th century fiction of the year."[16]

Abbs’ second novel, Frieda, tells the fictionalised story of the elopement of Frieda Weekley, wife of Ernest Weekley, with writer D.H. Lawrence in 1912. Previously Frieda von Richthofen, sister of Else von Richthofen, Frieda was a German aristocrat who later became the inspiration for many of Lawrence's female characters including Ursula in Women in Love and Connie in Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Abbs’ novel was published in 2018 in Australia/New Zealand by Hachette and in the UK by Two Roads, part of John Murray Press.

Frieda was a 2018 Times Book of the year[17] (historical fiction) and described in The Observer as ‘exuberant’ and ‘compelling’.[18] In 2019 Abbs delivered the annual DH Lawrence Birthday lecture alongside Dr Annalise Grice[19]

In 2019 Abbs was described in The Observer "as one of the best historical novelists today" by literature critic, Alexander Larman.[20]

Abbs’ first non-fiction book, The Age-Well Project, co-written with, Susan Saunders, was published by Piatkus in May 2019 and serialised in The Daily Mail and The Guardian.[21] [22]

Abbs has written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Irish Times, Tatler, The Author, Sydney Morning Herald, The Weekend Australian Review, Psychologies and Elle Magazine. Abbs has spoken at literary festivals and given Masterclasses for The Guardian.[23]

Abbs was a judge of the Impress Prize for New Writers in 2017 and 2019.[24] and supports a post-graduate student of creative writing at the University of East Anglia each year.[25]

Controversy

Abbs's first book was criticised in reviews in the Irish Times and Irish Examiner for the author's 'unsubstantiated speculations' on matters including incest between Lucia Joyce and her brother, and the causes of her mental illness.[26] [27] In A Companion to Literary Biography (ed. Robert Bradford, Wiley Blackwell, 2019), Joyce scholar Professor John McCourt, a trustee of the International James Joyce Foundation,[28] [29] wrote that "With Abbs, the perverse cycle of interest in Lucia comes full circle. We are back in the territory of fiction fraudulently posing as biography", and concluded it to be "a prime contender for the worst Joyce-inspired 'biography' ever."[30]

Published works

Notes and References

  1. Web site: About Annabel Abbs. Annabel Abbs. 9 August 2023.
  2. Web site: Annabel Abbs. Zeitgeist Agency.
  3. Web site: The original Lady Chatterley: Sussex novelist sets the record straight. www.sussexexpress.co.uk.
  4. News: The Joyce Girl by Annabel Abbs review – a skilful dance between times . 12 June 2016. Sethi. Anita. 20 December 2017. book review. The Guardian.
  5. News: Annabel Abbs' novel, The Joyce Girl. 28 September 2016. 20 December 2017. Books and Arts program. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. audio interview with Annabel Abbs.
  6. News: The Joyce Girl by Annabel Abbs . The Irish Times . 18 June 2016 . 21 December 2017.
  7. News: Abbs . Annabel . Why was James Joyce's daughter Lucia written out of history? . The Irish Times . 21 March 2013 . 21 December 2017.
  8. Web site: Why debut novelist Annabel Abbs has never taken a writing course. bathnovelaward. 18 May 2016. The Bath Novel Award. 21 December 2017.
  9. Web site: Burnett . Alice . Interview with Annabel Abbs . Litro Magazine Stories Transport you . 3 February 2017 . 21 December 2017.
  10. Web site: The Joyce Girl by Annabel Abbs – Acclaimed literary fiction debut. 11 January 2016. impress-books.co.uk. 21 December 2017.
  11. Web site: Berlin: 11 Festival Books — And Their Big-Screen Potential. The Hollywood Reporter. 11 February 2017 .
  12. Web site: Annabel Abbs' novel, The Joyce Girl . Radio National . 10 October 2003 . 21 December 2017.
  13. Web site: Goldsworthy . Kerryn . The Joyce Girl review: Annabel Abbs' plodding recreation of James Joyce's daughter, Lucia . The Sydney Morning Herald . 6 October 2016 . 21 December 2017.
  14. Web site: Review: The Joyce Girl . Stuff . 12 October 2016 . 21 December 2017.
  15. Web site: James Joyce'un kızı olmak . CNN Türk . 21 February 2017 . tr . 21 December 2017.
  16. Web site: The Joyce Girl. 9 August 2023.
  17. News: Review: Historical fiction round-up — The real Lady Chatterley. Senior. Antonia. 2018-11-10. The Times. 2019-03-13. en. 0140-0460.
  18. News: Frieda: The Original Lady Chatterley by Annabel Abbs review – DH Lawrence's muse. Anderson. Hephzibah. 2018-11-18. The Observer. 2019-03-13. en-GB. 0029-7712.
  19. Web site: About DH Lawrence Society .
  20. News: In brief: Palaces of Pleasure; A Stranger City; Frieda – reviews . Larman . Alexander . The Guardian . 19 May 2019 . as one of the best historical novelists today.
  21. Web site: Piatkus acquires guide to ageing well. The Bookseller. 9 August 2023.
  22. News: Happy ever after: 25 ways to live well into old age . Streets . Annabel. Saunders . Susan . The Guardian. 26 May 2019 .
  23. Web site: The Age-Well Project: Preparing for a longer, healthier and happier life The Guardian Members. membership.theguardian.com. 7 January 2020 . en-gb. 2020-01-21.
  24. Web site: Creative writing award: The Impress Prize . 8 June 2018 . Writers Online.
  25. Web site: Creative Writing - UEA. www.uea.ac.uk.
  26. Web site: Book review: The Joyce Girl. 2016-08-31. www.irishtimes.com. 2019-10-15.
  27. Web site: Book review: The Joyce Girl. 2016-10-22. www.irishexaminer.com. 2019-03-13.
  28. Web site: John McCourt | Autori. pordenonelegge.it.
  29. http://documenti.comune.trieste.it/trasparenza/curriculum%20John%20Francis%20Mc%20Court.pdf John Francis Mc Court. CV
  30. A Companion to Literary Biography, ed. Richard Bradford, Wiley Blackwell, 2019, pp. 538-9

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