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Kingsley Amis (1922-) is the author of seventeen novels, three
collections of poetry, over twenty short stories, and ten books of social or
literary criticism. He was born in London to William Robert and Rosa Annie
Lucas Amis. He began school at Norbury College, then attended the City of
London School until 1941, when he received a scholarship to St. John's College,
Oxford. At St. John's Amis met Philip Larkin; both men were studying English
Literature and remained close friends throughout their lives. |
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In 1942 Amis was commissioned as an officer in the Royal Signal Corps.
He served in the British Army for three years in France, Belgium, and West
Germany. He returned to St. John's in 1945 and received his degree in 1947.
Despite the rejection of his research degree thesis
"English Non-Dramatic Poetry, 1850-1900 and the
Victorian Reading Public," Amis was able to secure a post as lecturer in
English at University College at Swansea within a year. Amis remained at
Swansea for 12 years, then became a fulltime writer. |
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Since the beginning of his career in 1947 Amis has continued to write
and publish poetry and essays. His best known work, however, is his prose
fiction. In 1954 Amis published his first novel,
Lucky Jim, to great popular and critical
acclaim. The novel earned him the Somerset Maugham award for fiction and a
place in a group of young writers, which included Iris Murdoch and John
Osborne, whom the critics labeled "Angry Young
Men." |
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While Amis made his reputation with the satiric fiction of his early
novels such as
Lucky Jim, That Uncertain Feeling (1956), and
Take a Girl Like You (1960), in his 48 year
career Amis has written over 40 books in a wide range of genres including
mysteries, ghost stories, science fiction, social commentaries, literary
studies, and memoirs. |