Kingsley Amis (1922–1995)
Author of Lucky Jim
About the Author
Kingsley Amis is generally considered one of the "angry young men" of the 1950s. He was born in London in 1922 and educated at the City of London School. He received a degree in English language and literature from St. John's College, Oxford, in 1947. Until 1961 Amis lectured in English at show more University College, Swansea, and for the following two years at Cambridge. In 1947 Amis published his first collection of poems, Bright November. Frame of Mind followed in 1953 and Poems: Fantasy Portraits in 1954. His first novel, Lucky Jim (1954), established his reputation as a writer. He followed with That Uncertain Feeling (1956), and I Like It Here (1958). A longtime James Bond devotee, Amis wrote a James Bond adventure after the death of Ian Fleming in 1964. Amis's study of the famous spy was titled The James Bond Dossier (1965). Amis received the Booker Prize for the Old Devils (1986). Amis's later works include Memoirs (1990), and The King's English, a collection of essays on the craft of writing well. Amis was knighted in 1990. He died in 1995. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Courtesy of the NYPL Digital Gallery (image use requires permission from the New York Public Library)
Series
Works by Kingsley Amis
Dear Philip, Dear Kingsley: Starring Alan Bennett & Robert Hardy (BBC Radio Collection) (2002) 6 copies
Hemingway in Space [short fiction] 4 copies
Take A Girl Like You [1970 film] — Screenwriter — 4 copies
Journey Into the Past 2 copies
Colllected letters 2 copies
Mason's Life [short fiction] 2 copies
Yasli Kurtlar 1 copy
Something Strange 1 copy
Amis Kingsley 1 copy
Who Or What Was It? 1 copy
Conversations 1 copy
Associated Works
A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 Great Writers on Why We Read Jane Austen (2009) — Contributor — 367 copies
The war of the worlds, The time machine, and selected short stories (1963) — Foreword, some editions — 157 copies
Mister Jelly Roll: The Fortunes of Jelly Roll Morton, New Orleans Creole and "Inventor of Jazz" (1950) — Foreword, some editions — 150 copies
Lucky Jim [1957 film] — Original book — 3 copies
The Green Man [1990 TV series] — Original book — 2 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Amis, Kingsley William
- Other names
- Markham, Robert (pseudonym)
- Birthdate
- 1922-04-16
- Date of death
- 1995-10-22
- Burial location
- Golders Green Crematorium, London, England
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- Clapham, Wandsworth, London, England, UK
- Place of death
- St Pancras Hospital, London, England, UK
- Cause of death
- stroke
- Places of residence
- London, England, UK
Wales, UK - Education
- Oxford University (BA|1949| St John's College)
City of London School - Occupations
- writer
author
novelist
university lecturer
army officer (WWII)
college teacher (Wales) (show all 8)
poet
critic - Relationships
- Amis, Martin (son)
Howard, Elizabeth Jane (second wife)
Larkin, Philip (friend)
Conquest, Robert (friend) - Organizations
- Angry Young Men
Communist Party of Great Britain
Royal Corps of Signals - Awards and honors
- Guest of Honour, Eastercon, UK (1961)
Order of the British Empire (Commander) (1981)
Knight Bachelor (1990)
Members
Reviews
Spectrum: A Science Fiction Anthology by Kingsley Amis
This anthology first appeared in 1962 and has a good choice of Authors. William Tenn, Algis budrys, Robert Heinlein, Frederick Pohl, Robert Schekley and Clifford Simak. There are three other authors as well. A very worthwhile collection.
This has been my third attempt at 'Lucky Jim'. And this time I did manage to finish it, in the manner of someone who is obliged to finish a particularly irksome piece of homework: without enthusiasm or enjoyment.
My own university years came at the tail end of the period Amis depicts, so I do recognise some of the types described. Socially inept Dixon himself, the hapless Professor Welch, highly-strung Margaret - I've met them all. However, in this case, I didn't really believe in them. And I liked none of them, particularly the irritating and lazy Dixon. Unable to involve myself in his quest for yet another cigarette or pint, or identify with his terminal lazinesss, I just wanted him to get on with it and get us both to the end of the book.
There are wonderful images, such as the justly famous description of a hangover: 'His mouth had been used as a latrine by some small creature of the night, and then as its mausoleum. During the night, too, he’d somehow been on a cross-country run and then been expertly beaten up by a secret police. He felt bad.' But it was a high price to pay, ploughing through the book on the off-chance of meeting gems such as this. Not on my 'to-read-again' shelf.… (more)
My own university years came at the tail end of the period Amis depicts, so I do recognise some of the types described. Socially inept Dixon himself, the hapless Professor Welch, highly-strung Margaret - I've met them all. However, in this case, I didn't really believe in them. And I liked none of them, particularly the irritating and lazy Dixon. Unable to involve myself in his quest for yet another cigarette or pint, or identify with his terminal lazinesss, I just wanted him to get on with it and get us both to the end of the book.
There are wonderful images, such as the justly famous description of a hangover: 'His mouth had been used as a latrine by some small creature of the night, and then as its mausoleum. During the night, too, he’d somehow been on a cross-country run and then been expertly beaten up by a secret police. He felt bad.' But it was a high price to pay, ploughing through the book on the off-chance of meeting gems such as this. Not on my 'to-read-again' shelf.… (more)
Lists
Best Satire (1)
Folio Society (1)
Favourite Books (1)
My TBR (2)
Nifty Fifties (1)
Booker Prize (3)
First Novels (1)
A Novel Cure (1)
Best Spy Fiction (1)
United Kingdom (1)
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 98
- Also by
- 45
- Members
- 17,784
- Popularity
- #1,239
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 364
- ISBNs
- 505
- Languages
- 15
- Favorited
- 35