Lucy Irvine
Encyclopedia
Lucy Irvine is a British
adventurer and author
. Born in Whitton, London
, after a tumultuous and free spirited adolescence, in which she replaced formal education with travel and adventure, she joined forces with writer Gerald Kingsland
and, as an experiment in isolation, became self imposed castaway
s for a year on the isolated island
of Tuin, in the Torres Strait
between New Guinea
and Australia
. On her return in 1983, she had her experiences published in the book Castaway
, which was later used as the basis for the 1986 film of the same name.
Prior to writing Castaway, she had been employed as a charlady
, monkey keeper, waitress, stonemason's mate, life model
, pastry cook, and concierge
. She had first run away from school at twelve and had no full-time schooling after her thirteenth birthday.
Due to the interest raised by her first book and to coincide with the release of the film, she wrote about her life before Castaway in the book Runaway.
In 1999 she was invited to write a biography of Tom and Diana Hepworth, British ex-pats, who in 1947 set sail from England and embarked upon a hazardous journey in search of a faraway paradise where they could raise a family. They settled on Pigeon Island in the Solomons, running a trading business. Irvine accepted the invitation, taking her three sons for a year and immersed herself once again in island life. Faraway was the fruition of that experience.
In 2007 Irvine, accompanied by her youngest son, Benji, moved from Tanera Mòr
one of the Summer Isles
in Scotland
to Yambol
, Bulgaria
, from where she writes a blog
that is published on the Saga magazine website.
She has four sons - Laurie, Magnus, Joe & Benji. She is a member of Mensa
and Chelsea Arts Club.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
adventurer and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. Born in Whitton, London
Whitton, London
Whitton is a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, situated 10.7 miles west south-west of Charing Cross in Central London...
, after a tumultuous and free spirited adolescence, in which she replaced formal education with travel and adventure, she joined forces with writer Gerald Kingsland
Gerald Kingsland
Gerald W. Kingsland was a journalist, adventurer and writer, born and raised in Whitchurch, Buckinghamshire, England. He was five times married. He had five sons and two daughters from the total marriages...
and, as an experiment in isolation, became self imposed castaway
Castaway
A castaway is a person who is cast adrift or ashore. While the situation usually happens after a shipwreck, some people voluntarily stay behind on a deserted island, either to evade their captors or the world in general. Alternatively, a person or item can be cast away, meaning rejected or discarded...
s for a year on the isolated island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
of Tuin, in the Torres Strait
Torres Strait Islands
The Torres Strait Islands are a group of at least 274 small islands which lie in Torres Strait, the waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea but Torres Strait Island known and Recognize as Nyumaria.The islands are mostly part of...
between New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. On her return in 1983, she had her experiences published in the book Castaway
Castaway (book)
Castaway, a 1983 autobiographical book by Lucy Irvine about her year on the Australian tropical island of , having answered a want ad from writer Gerald Kingsland seeking a "wife" for a year in 1982. It was published by Victor Gollancz Ltd.. Irvine stated she longed for a “major personal challenge”...
, which was later used as the basis for the 1986 film of the same name.
Prior to writing Castaway, she had been employed as a charlady
Charlady
A charlady, char or charwoman was an English house cleaner. The term has the same roots as "chore woman," one hired to do odd chores around the house. A char or chare was a turn in the sixteenth century, and which gave rise to prefix being used to denote people that worked in domestic situations...
, monkey keeper, waitress, stonemason's mate, life model
Model (art)
Art models are models who pose for photographers, painters, sculptors, and other artists as part of their work of art. Art models who pose in the nude for life drawing are usually called life models...
, pastry cook, and concierge
Concierge
A concierge is an employee who either works in shifts within, or lives on the premises of an apartment building or a hotel and serves guests with duties similar to those of a butler. The position can also be maintained by a security officer over the 'graveyard' shift. A similar position, known as...
. She had first run away from school at twelve and had no full-time schooling after her thirteenth birthday.
Due to the interest raised by her first book and to coincide with the release of the film, she wrote about her life before Castaway in the book Runaway.
In 1999 she was invited to write a biography of Tom and Diana Hepworth, British ex-pats, who in 1947 set sail from England and embarked upon a hazardous journey in search of a faraway paradise where they could raise a family. They settled on Pigeon Island in the Solomons, running a trading business. Irvine accepted the invitation, taking her three sons for a year and immersed herself once again in island life. Faraway was the fruition of that experience.
In 2007 Irvine, accompanied by her youngest son, Benji, moved from Tanera Mòr
Tanera Mòr
Tanera Mòr is an inhabited island in Loch Broom in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. It is the largest of the Summer Isles and the only inhabited island in that group...
one of the Summer Isles
Summer Isles
The Summer Isles are an archipelago lying in the mouth of Loch Broom, in the Highland region of Scotland.-Geography:The only inhabited isle, Tanera Mòr, is also the largest. It is home to an Atlantic salmon fish farm, some rental holiday homes, a café and a post office, which has operated its own...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
to Yambol
Yambol
Yambol is a city in southeastern Bulgaria, an administrative centre of Yambol Province. It lies on both banks of the Tundzha river in the historical region of Thrace. As of February 2011, the town has a population of 72,843 inhabitants. It is occasionally spelt 'Jambol'.The administrative centres...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, from where she writes a blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
that is published on the Saga magazine website.
She has four sons - Laurie, Magnus, Joe & Benji. She is a member of Mensa
Mensa International
Mensa is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test...
and Chelsea Arts Club.