Christopher Hope
Encyclopedia
Christopher Hope is a South Africa
n novelist and poet who is known for his controversial works dealing with racism and politics in South Africa
.
in South Africa
, Hope questioned the special treatment of Caucasians
in that country. These feelings would eventually work their way into Hope's most famous writings. Hope was educated at the University of Witwatersrand and the University of Natal
. He served in the South African Navy
beginning in 1962. Hope married Eleanor Marilyn Margaret Klein February 18, 1967. The couple would eventually divorce. Hope worked briefly as a journalist before leaving on a "self-imposed" exile to London
, England
. His autobiographical piece, White Boy Running, chronicles this time of Hope's life.
for its overt criticisms of the Apartheid government
Hope's second novel,Kruger's Alp, was considered a stark contrast to his first work. Kruger's Alp was described by the New York Times Book Review as "a novel in the form of a dream allegory". Despite its departure from Hope's earlier writings, Kruger's Alp was greeted with critical acclaim.
Hope's other novels include The Hottentot Room, Darkest England, and My Mother's Lovers. (See Selected Bibliography below) Hope has also penned a memoir entitled White Boy Running, several plays, and two pieces of juvenile fiction.
. A Separate Development was the recipient of the David Higham Memorial Prize. Hope won the Whitbread Prize in 1984 for Kruger's Alp. Hope has also been awarded the Professor Alexander Petrie Award, the Silver Pen Award, and in 1992 short listed for the Man Booker Prize
with "Serenity House".
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
in 1990
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n novelist and poet who is known for his controversial works dealing with racism and politics in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Life
Christopher Hope was born in Johannesburg, South Africa to Dudley Mitford and Kathleen Margaret Hope. As an AfrikanerAfrikaner
Afrikaners are an ethnic group in Southern Africa descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch, French and German settlers whose native tongue is Afrikaans: a Germanic language which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch, and a variety of other languages.-Related ethno-linguistic groups:The...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Hope questioned the special treatment of Caucasians
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
in that country. These feelings would eventually work their way into Hope's most famous writings. Hope was educated at the University of Witwatersrand and the University of Natal
University of Natal
The University of Natal was a university in Natal, and later KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, that is now part of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. It was founded in 1910 as the Natal University College in Pietermaritzburg, and expanded to include a campus in Durban in 1931. In 1947, the university...
. He served in the South African Navy
South African Navy
The South African Navy is the navy of the Republic of South Africa.-Formation:The South African Navy can trace its official origins back to the SA Naval Service, which was established on 1 April 1922....
beginning in 1962. Hope married Eleanor Marilyn Margaret Klein February 18, 1967. The couple would eventually divorce. Hope worked briefly as a journalist before leaving on a "self-imposed" exile to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. His autobiographical piece, White Boy Running, chronicles this time of Hope's life.
Career
Hope's poetry was first published in Whitewashes, a poetry book that was released in 1971. In 1974, his poetry was published as Cape Drives, a collection of original prose. Hope's first novel, A Separate Development, was published in 1981. The novel was banned in South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
for its overt criticisms of the Apartheid government
Hope's second novel,Kruger's Alp, was considered a stark contrast to his first work. Kruger's Alp was described by the New York Times Book Review as "a novel in the form of a dream allegory". Despite its departure from Hope's earlier writings, Kruger's Alp was greeted with critical acclaim.
Hope's other novels include The Hottentot Room, Darkest England, and My Mother's Lovers. (See Selected Bibliography below) Hope has also penned a memoir entitled White Boy Running, several plays, and two pieces of juvenile fiction.
Awards
Over the course of his career, Hope has earned a number of prestigious writing awards. Cape Drives won Hope the Thomas Pringle Prize and a Cholmondeley AwardCholmondeley Award
The Cholmondeley Award is an annual award for poetry given by the Society of Authors in the United Kingdom. Awards honour distinguished poets, from a fund endowed by the late Dowager Marchioness of Cholmondeley in 1966...
. A Separate Development was the recipient of the David Higham Memorial Prize. Hope won the Whitbread Prize in 1984 for Kruger's Alp. Hope has also been awarded the Professor Alexander Petrie Award, the Silver Pen Award, and in 1992 short listed for the Man Booker Prize
Man Booker Prize
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The winner of the Man Booker Prize is generally assured of international renown and...
with "Serenity House".
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...
in 1990
Books
- Whitewashes 1970
- Cape Drives 1974
- A Separate Development 1977
- "Private Parts & Other Tales" 1981
- In the Country of the Black Pig 1981
- Kruger's Alp 1985
- The Hottentot Room 1986
- Black Swan 1987
- White Boy Running 1988
- My Chocolate Redeemer 1989
- Moscow! Moscow! 1990
- Serenity House 1992
- The Love Songs of Nathan J. Swirsky 1993
- Darkest England 1996
- Me, the Moon and Elvis Presley 1997
- Signs of the Heart: Love and Death in Languedoc 1999
- Heaven Forbid 2001
- Brothers Under the Skin: Travels in Tyranny 2003
- My Mother's Lovers 2007
Book reviews
- André Brink, A Fork in the Road (2009) - reviewed in
External links
- Christopher Hope at the Biography Resource Center
- Christopher Hope at Contemporary Writers
- Interview with Christopher Hope in the The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Christopher Hope at the Biography Reference Bank