Earn Timothy Findley: Stories From A Life Depicted By Carol Roberts Exhibited In Booklet

writer of international reputation, Timothy Findley's career encompasses successes in theatre, film, television, radio, and works of literature that have been translated into many languages and have received wide acclaim.
Carol Roberts uncovers the life and career of the man who has been called "a master storyteller, " Roberts also extensively documents Findley's own stories about himself and his works, Always insightful and sometimes quirky, these stories capture Findley's "excessive, and mad, and marvellous, puzzling, disturbing and utterly brilliant" vision, Roberts presents a short summary of Timothy Findleys life from

his childhood in his Rosedale home in Toronto to his life at his renovated farmhouse at Stone Orchard.
This volume was published inso her narrative carries his story up to the time he was working on his next novel, The Headhunter.


Born in, Tiff is named after his Uncle Tif a war hero, But Tiffs name is also an acronym of his full name, Timothy Irving Frederick Findley, so it has two “f”s,

Roberts covers Tiffs life as a series of stories, some of which he tells, some which others tell, He was often ill during his childhood and spent many long days at home in bed isolated and dreaming, reading and recovering, He also felt abandoned by his father who went off to war without saying goodbye, His adolescent years continued to be marked by major and minor illnesses and he did not do well at school where he was only interested in history and literature.


He first realized he was sexually attracted to men when he was seven or eight, He shared this fact with his mother when he was fourteen and with his father when he was fifteen and although both their initial reactions were denial, they later accepted it with grace.


Seeking a creative direction, his first choice of a career was dance but his father refused to fund his ballet classes so at seventeen he began to work at MasseyHarris and paid for them himself.
He was leading an interesting double life, spending his work days in the company of rough dirty men in work boots and sweaty clothes and at night in a ballet class with sensitive young men and women intent on an artistic life.
A fused disc ended his dance career and he moved on to acting, Roberts shares highlights from this time of his life including meeting Alec Guinness at Stratford who offered to pay for his studies at Londons Central School of Art and Drama.
Findley worked for the next three years as a contract player and during that time wrote a short story “About Effie” which he gave to actress Ruth Gordon, a celebrated actress who encouraged him to write rather than act.
When he started writing, he discovered he could express things through written words that he could not express in the acting roles created by other writers.
He was also beginning to feel boxed in by the minor roles he was getting and wanted to stretch his talent,

He spent some time in Hollywood, which was glamourous but beneath it all lay the grim reality of its ugly underbelly, a potent mix of backbiting and underhandedness as actors competed for the few roles that were available.
He listened behind the scenes as, fawned over in public were denigrated and hated in private, And after living for a period in L, A. , he also knew he did not want to live in the city it was not a world he wanted to be part of.


During this time he met and was briefly married to Janet Reid, The two had fallen in love and despite Tiffs homosexuality, they married, hoping and trusting that somehow things would work out, They didnt and the marriage was annulled, but the two remained good friends, This charade was followed by a terrible period of doubt, insecurity and heavy drinking, Findley sought psychiatric help but kept on writing, his slide to despair coming to an end when he met William Whitehead in, It was a critical relationship, the one that saved him, It gave Findley the stability he needed to confront his drinking and make a solid beginning in a career writing fiction,

Bill and Tiff retired from acting and settled northeast of Toronto at Stone Orchard where they wrote for radio and television.
Here was the peace, isolation and security Tiff needed so he could concentrate, Bill proved to be a steadying nurturing presence for Findley and looked after the practical side of the two living together, Roberts describes an intimate portrait of the two as a couple who had great affection and respect for one another,

Writing did not come easily to Findley, He struggled with each project he tackled, His first novel “The Last of the Crazy People” made the rounds of Canadian publishers for three years but was repeatedly rejected, It was finally published in the United States in, sold moderately well and won critical praise, In Canada, things did not go as well and the novel sold poorly, although praised for Tiffs writing,

His next effort “The Butterfly Plague”, met with the same response from Canadian publishers and was rejected, It too was published in the States but was virtually ignored in Canada, This began a period of troubling doubt and despair as Findley grew despondent over the lack of recognition he received in his home country and began another round of heavy drinking.


In thes, needing an income, he turned more and more to writing for television, One project he shared with Whitehead “The National Dream”, based on Pierre Bertons book chronicling the building of the CPR railroad, was well received and inTiff and Bill shared an ACTRA award for this work

His next novel “The Wars”, the first of his novels published in Canada, finally established him as a major Canadian writer.
The story of World War I soldier Robert Ross surviving trench warfare in France is based in part on his Uncle Tifs experience.
Findley read extensively and completed hours of meticulous research to portray the historical period accurately, “The Wars” was widely read, written about and analyzed and Tiff finally received the critical recognition he had waited for, This immediate success lifted his spirits and when it won the Governor Generals Award in, it was more icing on the cake, Findley finally felt his work was being understood and appreciated, He had finally gained some financial security but more importantly he was now recognized as a leading Canadian writer,

Encouraged by the success of “The Wars”, Findley tackled his next project which took four years to write, Hugh Mauberley became the voice in his novel “Famous Last Words” a story with dozens of characters which covers a long span of European history.
It uncovers intrigue by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and hints at their decadent lives and their fascists sympathies before and during World War II.
This work was enthusiastically received and extensively reviewed in Canada and the United States, adding more to Findleys stature, As his reputation grew, there was renewed interest in his earlier work which was being reexamined in the light of his new success.


“Dinner Along the Amazon”, an anthology of short stories published infollowed, Some of these stories had already been published in various journals and magazines, but Findley included the new title piece, a story set in Rosedale that explored the complexities of human relationships.


“Not Wanted on the Voyage”, the story of Mrs, Moyes a loving farm woman and her abusive husband Noah followed, This was an imaginative retelling of the Genesis story of Noah and the Ark, a combination of biblical “fact” and inventive fiction, Published init was also received with enthusiastic reviews,

The eighties were a time of relative calm in Tiffs life as he continued to gain recognition as one of Canadas top fiction writers.
His books were selling well, winning awards and being discussed in critical journals and university courses,

In his next novel “The Telling of Lies”, he entered a new genre, the murder mystery, using a female character as narrator.
This is his most political novel and explores Findleys apprehension over the ambiguous relationship between Canada and the United States and warns against the danger of powerful governments and complacent citizens.
This book also received a warm reception and won the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America,

“Stones”, a collection of short stories with madness as a central theme, followed next and “Inside Memory: Pages From a Writers Notebook” followed in.
This is not a structured accounting of Findleys life or a memoir, but is a collection of amusing stories about writers and friends.
Included in this volume are an assortment of journal entries, articles, radio pieces, speeches and an interview with Bill Whitehead,

His seventh novel “Headhunters” is set in a “Toronto of the near future” where AIDS and a new epidemic said to be spread by starlings is rampant where moral and sexual taboos have disappeared and where the environment and life itself is threatened.
Many of the characters are patients or doctors and some critics viewed this work as an attack on the abuses of psychiatry,

Roberts also describes Findleys work with the Writers Union of Canada which he helped establish to promote Canadian writers interest and foster a spirit of professionalism.
She also describes his work with PEN, a worldwide association of writers that defends freedom of expression all over the world,

There are some interesting stories about Stone Orchard, how it got its name stones were the only crop they could find on the farm!, his love and respect for animals and funny little anecdotes about Ingrid the mouse and a kitten that came to be known as Gigi.
Yes, there are lots of animals at Stone Orchard, dogs, horses and families of raccoons, They all have names and all share their living space with Tiff and Bill,

The volume comes to a close and was published in, but Findley continued to write and completed two more novels, “The Piano Mans Daughter” inand “Pilgrim” inbefore his death in.


This volume, part of the Canadian Biography Series, is targeted at young readers, but provides background for anyone who enjoys Findleys writing or as a complement to scholarly opinion.
These books have numerous illustrations, a chronology and include a list of the works consulted for the narrative, It proves to be a helpful reference work,

.