William Trevor’s Followers (760)

William Trevor

Born

in Mitchelstown, County Cork, Ireland

May 24, 1928

Died

November 21, 2016

Genre

Literature & Fiction

edit data

William Trevor, KBE grew up in various provincial towns and attended a number of schools, graduating from Trinity College, in Dublin, with a degree in history. He first exercised his artistry as a sculptor, working as a teacher in Northern Ireland and then emigrated to England in search of work when the school went bankrupt. He could have returned to Ireland once he became a successful writer, he said, "but by then I had become a wanderer, and one way and another, I just stayed in England ... I hated leaving Ireland. I was very bitter at the time. But, had it not happened, I think I might never have written at all."

In 1958 Trevor published his first novel, A Standard of Behaviour, to little critical success. Two years later, he abandoned sc William Trevor, KBE grew up in various provincial towns and attended a number of schools, graduating from Trinity College, in Dublin, with a degree in history. He first exercised his artistry as a sculptor, working as a teacher in Northern Ireland and then emigrated to England in search of work when the school went bankrupt. He could have returned to Ireland once he became a successful writer, he said, "but by then I had become a wanderer, and one way and another, I just stayed in England ... I hated leaving Ireland. I was very bitter at the time. But, had it not happened, I think I might never have written at all."

In 1958 Trevor published his first novel, A Standard of Behaviour, to little critical success. Two years later, he abandoned sculpting completely, feeling his work had become too abstract, and found a job writing copy for a London advertising agency. 'This was absurd,' he said. 'They would give me four lines or so to write and four or five days to write it in. It was so boring. But they had given me this typewriter to work on, so I just started writing stories. I sometimes think all the people who were missing in my sculpture gushed out into the stories.' He published several short stories, then his second and third novels, which both won the Hawthornden Prize (established in 1919 by Alice Warrender and named after William Drummond of Hawthornden, the Hawthornden Prize is one of the UK's oldest literary awards). A number of other prizes followed, and Trevor began working full-time as a writer in 1965.

Since then, Trevor has published nearly 40 novels, short story collections, plays, and collections of nonfiction. He has won three Whitbread Awards, a PEN/Macmillan Silver Pen Award, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. In 1977 Trevor was appointed an honorary (he holds Irish, not British, citizenship) Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to literature and in 2002 he was elevated to honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE). Since he began writing, William Trevor regularly spends half the year in Italy or Switzerland, often visiting Ireland in the other half. He lived in Devon, in South West England, on an old mill surrounded by 40 acres of land. ...more

Combine Editions
William Trevor’s books

Average rating: 3.81 · 42,455 ratings · 5,429 reviews · 178 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Story of Lucy Gault 3.77 avg rating — 7,955 ratings — published 2002 — 72 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Love and Summer 3.59 avg rating — 4,462 ratings — published 2009 — 56 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Felicia's Journey 3.69 avg rating — 4,067 ratings — published 1994 — 73 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	After Rain 4.13 avg rating — 2,037 ratings — published 1996 — 36 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Last Stories 3.95 avg rating — 2,052 ratings — published 2018 — 25 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Collected Stories 4.45 avg rating — 1,755 ratings — published 1992 — 19 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fools of Fortune by William Trevor, Francine Prose (Goodreads Author) (Introduction) 3.99 avg rating — 1,360 ratings — published 1983 — 32 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Bit on the Side 3.82 avg rating — 1,194 ratings — published 2004 — 40 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Children of Dynmouth 3.98 avg rating — 1,129 ratings — published 1976 — 41 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Death in Summer 3.70 avg rating — 1,193 ratings — published 1998 — 33 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by William Trevor…

Quotes by William Trevor (?)

“I read hungrily and delightedly, and have realized since that you can’t write unless you read.”
― William Trevor

1346 likes

“I get melancholy if I don't [write]. I need the company of people who don't exist.”
― William Trevor

124 likes

“People run away to be alone,' he said. Some people had to be alone.”
― William Trevor, Love and Summer

tags: loneliness, people

58 likes

See all William Trevor's quotes »

Polls

Which author do you like for our April short stories read?

Alice Munro

8 votes, 34.8%

William Trevor

5 votes, 21.7%

Kelly Link

4 votes, 17.4%

T.C. Boyle

3 votes, 13.0%

Heinrich Heine

3 votes, 13.0%

23 total votes

1 comment

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Goodreads Librari...: Photo for Author--William Trevor	2	58	Mar 02, 2009 03:02PM
The Next Best Boo...: March's Group Reads are.......	257	896	Mar 15, 2009 11:53AM
The Next Best Boo...: Ireland	33	338	May 22, 2009 09:04AM
Challenge: 50 Books: Dorinda's 50 Books for 2009	20	68	Jan 04, 2010 09:51AM
Short Story lovers: Recent favorites	50	175	Jan 05, 2010 04:40AM
Every one's Choice: Winner for March	37	47	Feb 22, 2010 06:00AM
Short Story lovers: All-time favorites	94	255	Mar 02, 2010 06:27PM
Bookmarks Subscri...: (June - Sept 2010) Love and Summer	1	14	May 23, 2010 10:31AM

More…

William Trevor’s Followers (760)

William Trevor

Combine EditionsWilliam Trevor’s books

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
William Trevor’s books