Who was Alan Sillitoe? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

British Celebrities Born In March

Died At Age: 82

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Ruth Fainlight

father: Christopher Sillitoe

mother: Sabina Sillitoe

children: David and Susan

Novelists Short Story Writers

Died on: April 25, 2010

place of death: London

City: Nottingham, England

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Childhood & Early Life

Alan was born on 4 March 1928, in Nottingham, to Sabina and Christopher Sillitoe. Alan's family was in a poor financial condition since his father worked at a bicycle factory which paid him a meagre salary. He also shifted jobs quite frequently and was economically unsteady.

At the age of 14, Alan's education ended since he had failed in the entrance examination for the 'Grammar School'. He ended up working at 'Rayleigh Bicycle Factory' almost immediately, and continued for the next four years. Alan apparently read books whenever he found time, and also tried his luck with girls during this time.

Alan then joined the Royal Air Force. He was posted as a wireless operator in Malaya, during the Emergency. After he returned home, it was discovered that Alan had contracted tuberculosis. Hence, he had to spend the next 16 months in a hospital.

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British Writers

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British Short Story Writers

Career

Due to his illness Alan had to retire at an early age of 21. He had to manage himself for a long time on a pension of 45 shillings. For a period of 7 years, Alan lived in places like France and Spain. At Spain he met the famous poet Robert Graves, who also inspired him greatly.

Together, Robert and Alan started working on the latter’s debut work ‘Saturday Night and Sunday Morning’. In 1958, this work was released to the public.

In 1962, Alan’s short story ‘The Loneliness of The Long Distance Runner’ was adapted into a movie.

Alan was invited to the Soviet Union several times in the early part of the 1960’s to address the issue of oppression of workers. In 1968, he addressed the ‘Congress of Soviet Writers Union’ where he spoke about the various issues of human abuse, few of them which he had witnessed himself.

Alan’s autobiography titled ‘Life Without Armour’ was published in 1995. This book which mainly focused on many incidents of Alan’s childhood, went on to become one his most acclaimed works.

His last work as a writer was the book ‘Gadfly in Russia’ which was published in 2007. In this book, Alan talked about the experiences of his various travels to Russia over a period of 40 years.

Major Works

One of Alan’s most important works is ‘A Tree on Fire’, a book which is very underrated. The book deals with the inhuman conditions under which labourers in industries work. The exploitation of the labour class in Soviet Union could have been a possible reason for this piece of literature.

Awards & Achievements

In 1990, he was given an honorary degree from the ‘Nottingham Trent University’.

In 1997, Alan became a member of the esteemed ‘Royal Society of Literature’, a senior literary organization of Britain.

Personal Life & Legacy

Alan felt his father was very violent, and almost brought the family to a state of starvation. His father also inspired Alan to pen one of the key characters of his debut novel ‘Saturday Night and Sunday Morning’.

Alan met poetess Ruth Fainlight, an American, during his stay in Spain. After a courtship of four years, they finally tied the knot in 1959. The couple had a son named David. They also adopted a girl named Susan.

He died due to cancer on 25 April 2010, at the age of 82.

Trivia

Other than ‘Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner’, three other works of Alan’s were adapted into films, namely ‘The Ragman’s Daughter’, ‘Counterpoint’, and the very famous ‘Saturday Night and Sunday Morning’.

Alan Sillitoe Biography