Christopher Fowler
| Christopher Fowler | |
|---|---|
| Born | Christopher Fowler March 26, 1953 Greenwich, London |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Nationality | British |
| Period | 1984–present |
| Genres | Thriller |
| Notable work(s) | Bryant & May Mysteries |
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www.christopherfowler.co.uk |
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Christopher Fowler (born March 26, 1953) is an English thriller writer. In addition to his numerous horror, satire and crime novels, he has also written a Sherlock Holmes audio drama for BBC 7 entitled The Lady Downstairs. He was born in Greenwich, London.
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[edit] Bryant and May Mysteries
He is the author of the Bryant and May mysteries, in which the two detectives, Arthur Bryant and John May, are members of the fictional Peculiar Crimes Unit. The series comprises: Full Dark House, The Water Room, Seventy-Seven Clocks, Ten Second Staircase, White Corridor, The Victoria Vanishes, Bryant & May On the Loose, Bryant & May Off the Rails and Bryant & May and the Memory of Blood. The tenth book of the series, Bryant & May and the Invisible Code was released on August 2, 2012. Bryant and May, as well as other characters from this series, also appear in Fowler's Rune and Darkest Day, although these books are not considered part of the series.
The Bryant and May series is set primarily in London, with stories taking place in various years between World War 2 and the present. Whilst there is a progressive narrative, many of the books focus on flashbacks to a major criminal incident from the detectives' shared past. For instance, Full Dark House focuses on John May's reminiscence of the team's first case together during the Blitz, whilst Seventy Seven Clocks is framed as Arthur Bryant's retelling of a case from 1973.
Fowler weaves many factual layers of London's history and society throughout the series. Most of the locations are recognisable London landmarks such as St Paul's Cathedral, The Tate Gallery and various theatres. A major feature of The Water Room is the networks of tunnels and underground rivers underneath the city.
There are many references to other literary works throughout the series. Seventy-Seven Clocks contains references to Gilbert and Sullivan throughout the narrative, while The Victoria Vanishes has similarities with The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin.
[edit] Other novels and short stories
His book Rune is an update to a modern setting of the M. R. James story Casting the Runes. It also features Bryant, May, and several characters from that series.
His story "The Master Builder" was filmed as Through the Eyes of a Killer,[1] starring Richard Dean Anderson, Marg Helgenberger and Tippi Hedren. His tenth short story collection, Old Devil Moon, won the Edge Hill Audience Prize 2008.
His novella Breathe, published by Telos Publishing Ltd., won the British Fantasy Society Award for best novella in 2005.[2]
Put into different temporal settings, some elements of his original 2008 story “Arkangel” from Exotic Gothic 2 reappear in his 2012 frame-novel Hell Train (a book called “must read now!” by SciFiNow[3]), including the Polish town of Chelmsk,[4] and the physical descriptions of its white gold-rivetted damnation train Arkangel,[4] the mysterious conductor and stationmaster,[4] and the town’s yokels.[4][5]
[edit] Novels and collections
| How to Impersonate Famous People | 1984 | ISBN 0-7043-3463-1 |
| The Ultimate Party Book | 1985 | ISBN 0-04-793087-X |
| City Jitters | 1986 | ISBN 0-7221-3704-4 |
| City Jitters 2 | ||
| Roofworld | 1988 | ISBN 0-7126-2421-X |
| The Bureau of Lost Souls (US: More City Jitters) | 1989 | ISBN 0-7126-2459-7 |
| Rune | 1990 | ISBN 0-7126-3466-5 |
| Red Bride | 1992 | ISBN 0-356-20805-2 |
| Sharper Knives | 1992 | ISBN 0-7515-0152-2 |
| Darkest Day | 1993 | ISBN 0-316-90534-8 |
| Spanky | 1994 | ISBN 0-7515-0959-0 |
| Flesh Wounds | 1995 | ISBN 0-7515-1431-4 |
| Psychoville | 1995 | ISBN 0-7515-1664-3 |
| Menz Insana (graphic novel) | ISBN 1-56389-300-2 | |
| Disturbia | 1998 | ISBN 0-7515-1909-X |
| Soho Black | 1998 | ISBN 0-7515-2559-6 |
| Personal Demons | 1998 | ISBN 1-85242-597-0 |
| Uncut | 1999 | ISBN 0-7515-2644-4 |
| Calabash | 2000 | ISBN 0-7515-3040-9 |
| The Devil in Me | 2004 | ISBN 1-85242-768-X |
| Demonized | 2004 | ISBN 1-85242-848-1 |
| Full Dark House | 2004 | ISBN 0-553-81552-0 |
| Breathe | 2004 | ISBN 1-903889-67-7 |
| The Water Room | 2004 | ISBN 0-385-60554-4 |
| Seventy-Seven Clocks | 2005 | ISBN 0-385-60885-3 |
| Ten Second Staircase | 2006 | ISBN 0-385-60886-1 |
| Old Devil Moon | 2007 | ISBN 978-1-85242-925-6 |
| White Corridor | 2007 | ISBN 978-0-385-61067-4 |
| The Victoria Vanishes | 2008 | ISBN 978-0-385-61068-1 |
| Paperboy (autobiography) | 2009 | ISBN 978-0-385-61557-0 |
| Bryant & May On The Loose[6] | 2009 | ISBN 978-0-385-61465-8 |
| Bryant & May Off the Rails[7] | 2010 | ISBN 978-0-553-80720-2 |
| Bryant and May and the Memory of Blood | 2011 | ISBN 978-0-85752-049-4 |
| Hell Train | 2012 | ISBN 978-1-907992-44-5 |
| Bryant & May and the Invisible Code | 2012 | ISBN 978-0857520500 |
[edit] Forgotten Authors series
Fowler writes a periodic column for The Independent titled Forgotten Authors. In this series, he looks at a wide range of writers whose works, once popular, have now fallen out of the public eye.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Through the Eyes of a Killer at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ "The British Fantasy Awards".
- ^ Morton, Sophi (2012). "HELL TRAIN: The ride of your life... or death". SciFiNow (62): 86.
- ^ a b c d Fowler, Christopher (2008). "Arkangel." Exotic Gothic 2. Ed. Danel Olson. Ashcroft, British Columbia: Ash-Tree Press. p. 119. ISBN 978-1-55310-109-3 (hardback), ISBN 978-1-55310-110-9 (paperback) Check
|isbn=value (help). - ^ Fowler, Christopher (2012). "Chapter 3: Arrival". Hell Train. Oxford, UK: Solaris Books/Rebellion Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907992-44-5 (paperback),.
- ^ ""Bryant & May: Death Or Glory?", the author's blog, August 24th, 2008".
- ^ ""Bryant & May Return in Two-Book Deal", the author's blog, March 18th, 2009".
[edit] External links
- Christopher Fowler's web site
- BBC Sherlock Holmes site There is a short story The Lady Downstairs written by Fowler which can be read or heard.
- Christopher Fowler at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
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