Victor Pritchett English writer, literary critic Date of Birth: 16.12.1900 Country: Great Britain

Biography of Victor Pritchett

Victor Pritchett, an English writer and literary critic, was born on December 16, 1900 in Ipswich, Suffolk. At the age of 15, he left school and moved to Paris, where he wrote short sketches for the newspaper "Christian Science Monitor." His first book, "Marching Spain," was published in 1928.

Pritchett was recognized as one of the greatest masters of the English short story after Rudyard Kipling. His skill in capturing the essence of a character in just a few words, combined with his art of economical description and subtle psychological insight, set him apart. His prose is focused on vibrant, colloquial language, and it is transparent and concrete.

Pritchett gained a reputation as an excellent storyteller with his novella "Sense of Humor" in 1934. In 1991, his "Complete Collected Stories" were published. Among his novels, "Mr. Beluncle" (1951) is considered the best, portraying the life of an eccentric puritan.

"The Living Novel" and "Later Appreciations" are collections of critical essays originally published in the "New Statesman." Pritchett worked for this newspaper from 1928 and was its chief editor from 1946 to 1978. His "Complete Collected Essays" were published in 1992.

In 1968, the first volume of his autobiography, "A Cab at the Door," was released, followed by the second volume, "Midnight Oil," in 1971. Pritchett's biographies of Honore de Balzac (1973) and Ivan Turgenev ("The Gentle Barbarian," 1977) as well as his essays in the collection "The Myth Makers" (1979) were praised for their insightful literary criticism.

"The Tale Bearers" (1980) is a collection of twenty-three sketches about writers from Charles Dickens to Saul Bellow. Pritchett's edited volume, "The Oxford Book of Short Stories," published in 1981, received high acclaim from experts and readers alike.

In 1975, Pritchett was knighted for his contributions to literature. He passed away on March 20, 1997 in London.