Marie Phillips
Encyclopedia
Marie Phillips is a British writer. Her novel Gods Behaving Badly
, a comic fantasy
concerning ancient Greek gods
living in modern-day Hampstead, was first published in the United Kingdom in 2007, later becoming a bestseller in Canada.
She is the daughter of Nicholas Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers
.
and Cambridge
, where she read social anthropology
. After university, she worked as a researcher in television documentaries and current affairs, interrupting this career for a year to complete an MA in visual anthropology
at the University of Manchester. In 2003 she quit television completely to pursue a career as a writer. Phillips's first novel, The Talentless Miss Pigeon, was turned down by publishers. She worked in bookshops while writing her second novel, Gods Behaving Badly. On the advice of a representative from Random House
, Phillips submitted the second work to Dan Franklin, the publishing director of Jonathan Cape
, who purchased the UK and Commonwealth rights.
Phillips left bookselling in 2007 to concentrate on writing. She also has a regular personal blog on blogspot.com, which often includes reviews of literature, theatre, and film, as well as current television and radio. She was a writer-in-residence for the charity First Story
at Harris Academy Bermondsey 2009–10, and currently at Ackland Burghley School in London.
With Robert Hudson (novelist)
she wrote Warhorses of Letters, a 2011 BBC Radio 4
comedy series about the horses of Napoleon and Wellington starring Stephen Fry
, Daniel Rigby
and Tamsin Greig
. The book of the series is being crowd-funded through the Unbound platform.
while listening to a philosophy teacher's comparison between the Christian God and those of the ancient world:
She drew further inspiration for the novel's plot from the legend of Orpheus
and Eurydice
.
Gods Behaving Badly is Phillips's first published novel. It was released in the UK to largely positive reviews, and has been sold to over 12 countries. including Canada, where it reached #1 in the top-selling fiction list. It was originally optioned for television by Ben Stiller
's Red Hour Productions, and is currently being made into a film by Big Beach Films.
Gods Behaving Badly
Gods Behaving Badly is a novel by the British author Marie Phillips. It was first published by Johnathan Cape in 2007. Set in London, it tells the tale of the twelve gods of Mount Olympus living in a rundown flat as their powers wane...
, a comic fantasy
Comic fantasy
Comic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. Usually set in imaginary worlds, comic fantasy often includes puns on and parodies of other works of fantasy. It is sometimes known as Low fantasy in contrast to High fantasy, which is primarily serious in intent...
concerning ancient Greek gods
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
living in modern-day Hampstead, was first published in the United Kingdom in 2007, later becoming a bestseller in Canada.
She is the daughter of Nicholas Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers
Nicholas Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers
Nicholas Addison Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers, KG PC is the President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. Before 1 October 2009 his title was Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. He was Master of the Rolls from 2000 to 2005 and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 2005...
.
Life and career
Phillips was born in London and educated at Bryanston SchoolBryanston School
Bryanston School is a co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils in Blandford, north Dorset, England, near the village of Bryanston. It was founded in 1928...
and Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, where she read social anthropology
Social anthropology
Social Anthropology is one of the four or five branches of anthropology that studies how contemporary human beings behave in social groups. Practitioners of social anthropology investigate, often through long-term, intensive field studies , the social organization of a particular person: customs,...
. After university, she worked as a researcher in television documentaries and current affairs, interrupting this career for a year to complete an MA in visual anthropology
Visual anthropology
Visual anthropology is a subfield of cultural anthropology that is concerned, in part, with the study and production of ethnographic photography, film and, since the mid-1990s, new media...
at the University of Manchester. In 2003 she quit television completely to pursue a career as a writer. Phillips's first novel, The Talentless Miss Pigeon, was turned down by publishers. She worked in bookshops while writing her second novel, Gods Behaving Badly. On the advice of a representative from Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, Phillips submitted the second work to Dan Franklin, the publishing director of Jonathan Cape
Jonathan Cape
Jonathan Cape was a London-based publisher founded in 1919 as "Page & Co" by Herbert Jonathan Cape , formerly a manager at Duckworth who had worked his way up from a position of bookshop errand boy. Cape brought with him the rights to cheap editions of the popular author Elinor Glyn and sales of...
, who purchased the UK and Commonwealth rights.
Phillips left bookselling in 2007 to concentrate on writing. She also has a regular personal blog on blogspot.com, which often includes reviews of literature, theatre, and film, as well as current television and radio. She was a writer-in-residence for the charity First Story
First Story
First Story is a literary charity. It was founded in 2007 by Katie Waldegrave and the writer William Fiennes to improve literacy and foster creativity in young people through creative writing...
at Harris Academy Bermondsey 2009–10, and currently at Ackland Burghley School in London.
With Robert Hudson (novelist)
Robert Hudson (novelist)
- Life and career :Robert Hudson is a British novelist and comedy writer. He was born in Zimbabwe, raised in Essex and lives in Kilburn, London...
she wrote Warhorses of Letters, a 2011 BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
comedy series about the horses of Napoleon and Wellington starring Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
, Daniel Rigby
Daniel Rigby
Daniel Rigby is an English television and stage actor.He attended Cheadle Hulme School and studied performing arts at Stockport College. He became one of the youngest students from the college to be accepted by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art...
and Tamsin Greig
Tamsin Greig
Tamsin Greig is an English actress principally known for two Channel 4 television comedy parts: Fran Katzenjammer in Black Books and Dr. Caroline Todd in Green Wing...
. The book of the series is being crowd-funded through the Unbound platform.
Gods Behaving Badly
Phillips conceived the idea for Gods Behaving BadlyGods Behaving Badly
Gods Behaving Badly is a novel by the British author Marie Phillips. It was first published by Johnathan Cape in 2007. Set in London, it tells the tale of the twelve gods of Mount Olympus living in a rundown flat as their powers wane...
while listening to a philosophy teacher's comparison between the Christian God and those of the ancient world:
He was saying that the gods of the ancient world had flaws, they were more human, and I suddenly thought, what if they were right? There is something arbitrary about belief; if you are a Christian, then you have to believe that the Hindus are wrong, and the other way round. You can back your beliefs up with archaeology or sacred texts, but ultimately it comes down to siding with one team or another. And I thought – what about the Greeks? No one sides with that team any more, but what if they were the ones who got it right? So here's this group of gods, imagine if they were still around...
She drew further inspiration for the novel's plot from the legend of Orpheus
Orpheus
Orpheus was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music; his attempt to retrieve his wife from the underworld; and his death at the hands of those who...
and Eurydice
Eurydice
Eurydice in Greek mythology, was an oak nymph or one of the daughters of Apollo . She was the wife of Orpheus, who loved her dearly; on their wedding day, he played joyful songs as his bride danced through the meadow. One day, a satyr saw and pursued Eurydice, who stepped on a venomous snake,...
.
Gods Behaving Badly is Phillips's first published novel. It was released in the UK to largely positive reviews, and has been sold to over 12 countries. including Canada, where it reached #1 in the top-selling fiction list. It was originally optioned for television by Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
's Red Hour Productions, and is currently being made into a film by Big Beach Films.