Download The Tale Bearers: Essays On English, American And Other Writers Illustrated By V.S. Pritchett Presented In Text

than much contemporary fiction, with more insight into writers than many writers have into their own characters, Victor Sawdon Pritchett was the first of four children of Walter Sawdon Pritchett and Beatrice Helena née Martin, His father, a London businessman in financial difficulties, had come to Ipswich to start a shop selling newspapers and stationery, The business was struggling and the couple

were lodging over a toyshop atSt Nicholas Street where Pritchett was born onDecember, Beatrice had expected a girl, whom she planned to name after the Queen, Pritchett never liked his first name, which is why he always styled himself with his initials even close friends would call him VSP, Pritchetts father was a steady Christian Scientist and unsteady in all else, Walter and Beatrice had come to Ipswich to be near her sister who had married Victor Sawdon Pritchett was the first of four children of Walter Sawdon Pritchett and Beatrice Helena née Martin.
His father, a London businessman in financial difficulties, had come to Ipswich to start a shop selling newspapers and stationery, The business was struggling and the couple were lodging over a toyshop atSt Nicholas Street where Pritchett was born onDecember, Beatrice had expected a girl, whom she planned to name after the Queen, Pritchett never liked his first name, which is why he always styled himself with his initials even close friends would call him VSP, Pritchett's father was a steady Christian Scientist and unsteady in all else, Walter and Beatrice had come to Ipswich to be near her sister who had married money and lived in Warrington Road, Within a year Walter was declared bankrupt, the family moved to Woodford, Essex, then to Derby, and he began selling women's clothing and accessories as a travelling salesman.
Pritchett was soon sent with his brother Cyril to live with their paternal grandparents in Sedbergh, where the boys attended their first school, Walter's business failures, his casual attitude to credit, and his easy deceit obliged the family to move frequently, The family was reunited but life was always precarious they tended to live in London suburbs with members of Beatrice's family, They returned to Ipswich in, living for a year near Cauldwell Hall Road, trying to evade Walter's creditors, At this time Pritchett attended St, John's School. Subsequently Pritchett attended Alleyn's School, Dulwich, and Dulwich College but he stayed nowhere for very long, When his father went to fight in World War I, Pritchett left school, Later in the war Walter turned his hand to aircraft design, of which he knew nothing, and his later ventures included art needlework, property speculation, and faith healing.
Pritchett was a leather buyer fromto, when he moved to Paris, where he worked as a shop assistant, Inhe started writing for the Christian Science Monitor, which sent him to Ireland and Spain, Fromhe wrote reviews for the paper and for the New Statesman, which later appointed him literary editor, Pritchett's first book described his journey across Spain Marching Spainand Clare Drummerwas about his experiences in Ireland, Whilst in Ireland he met his first wife, Evelyn Vigors, but it was not to be a happy marriage, Pritchett published five novels but he claimed not to enjoy their creation, His reputation was established by a collection of short stories The Spanish Virgin and Other Stories, Inhe divorced his first wife, and married Dorothy Rudge Roberts they had two children, The marriage lasted until Pritchett's death, although they both had other relationships, His son is the journalist Oliver Pritchett and his grandson son of Oliver is the cartoonist Matt Pritchett, During World War II Pritchett worked for the BBC and the Ministry of Information whilst continuing to submit a weekly essay to the New Statesman, After the war he wrote widely and he started taking teaching positions at universities in the United States: Princeton, the University of California, Columbia University and Smith College.
He was fluent in German, Spanish, and French, and published successful biographies of Honoré de Balzac, Ivan Turgenevand Anton Chekhov, although he did not know Russian and had never visited the Soviet Union.
Pritchett was knighted infor his services to literature and became Companion of Honour in, His awards include Heinemann Award, PEN Award, W, H. Smith Literary Award, and Golden Pen Award, He died of a stroke in London onMarch, sitelink sitelink.