About
Kingsley Amis was a major British writer of the 20th century. Born in Clapham, London, he studied at Oxford after serving as a lieutenant in World War II. His first novel, Lucky Jim (1954), won the Somerset Maugham Award and established him as a leading figure of the 'Angry Young Men'. He published over twenty novels, including The Old Devils (1986), which won the Booker Prize. A poet associated with The Movement, he also wrote literary criticism, a James Bond continuation novel, and an autobiography. Father of novelist Martin Amis, he was knighted in 1990.
* 1922-04-16 — † 1995-10-22
Major works
- Lucky Jim (1954)novel
- New Maps of Hell (1960)literary criticism
- Colonel Sun (1968)novel
- The Old Devils (1986)novel
- Memoirs (1991)memoir
Key milestones
- 1954Publication of Lucky Jim, which won the Somerset Maugham Award.
- 1986The Old Devils won the Booker Prize.
- 1990Knighted in the Birthday Honours.
Themes
social satireacademic lifemasculinityaging and declineliterature and criticism
Sources: britannica.com · thebookerprizes.com · research.hrc.utexas.edu