Michael Morpurgo: War Child to War Horse - Hardcover

Maggie Fergusson; Michael Morpurgo

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0007387261 ISBN 13: 9780007387267

Publisher: Fourth Estate, 2012

Synopsis

The life of Michael Morpurgo, as a biography, and autobiographical stories.

Michael Morpurgo is a national treasure. With books such as Private Peaceful , Kensuke s Kingdom and The Wreck of the Zanzibar he has enchanted a whole generation of children, weaving stories for them in a way that is neither contrived nor condescending. His is a rare gift.

In 2007, Michael s novel War Horse was adapted for the stage by the National Theatre. Five years on, it continues to play to packed audiences of all ages and has been turned into a blockbuster film by Steven Spielberg, propelling Morpurgo to household-name status.

Michael s own story is as strange and surprising as any he has written, and is shot through with the same thread of sadness found in almost all his work. How did this supremely unbookish boy who dreamed of becoming an army officer become a bestselling author and Children s Laureate instead? What personal price has he paid for success? And why, amidst his triumphs, is he now haunted by regret?

In a unique collaboration, Maggie Fergusson explores Michael Morpurgo s life through seven biographical chapters, to which he responds with seven stories. The portrait that emerges is one of light and shade: the light very bright, the shade complex and often painful.

About this title

Review

... what [Maggie Fergusson] has done is to present, with tact and insight, a man who is clearly complex, ferociously energetic, idealistic, not always easy to get on with but at least in the words of his friend Philip Pullman a truly good man ... Fergusson has done her subject proud, skilfully evoking both the high and low points of a busy and productive life ... This combination is an original idea, and the stories nicely complement the unfolding life. But in the last resort the most compelling story is just that as told by a masterly biographer Penelope Lively, Spectator

Maggie Fergusson explores the six selfs of the author ...Morpurgo has written seven stories reflecting on these roles and they are a joy to read Sunday Telegraph

Despite her cosy relationship with her subject she offers him no comfortable ride ... Morpurgo has worked hard for his success. This compassionate and appreciative biography of a good man is nothing less that his due. Nicholas Tucker, Independent

Mrs Fergusson s instinctive empathy with her subject has been abetted by his co-operation and that of his close family and friends ... The result is fascinating and salutary for our more emollient age ... Exploring and explaining, balanced and impeccably researched, this is biography at its best. It shows us how, If Mr Morpurgo s wells are deep and often run dark, their water runs clear and pure Country Life

Maggie Fergusson describes all this with great verve, which, counter-pointed by Morpurgo s semi-fictional reactions, gives the biography a powerful sense of unpredictability and excitement Piers Plowright, Camden New Journal

--Camden New Journal

About the Author

Maggie Fergusson is Secretary of the Royal Society of Literature and Literary Editor of Intelligent Life. Her first book, George Mackay Brown: The Life, won the Saltire First Book Prize, the Marsh Biography Award, the Yorkshire Post Book of the Year Award and the Scottish Arts Council Biography Award.

Michael Morpurgo OBE is one of Britain s best-loved writers for children. He was written over 100 books and won many prizes, including the Blue Peter Book Award and the Whitbread Award. His bestselling novels include Kensuke s Kingdom, Shadow, Private Peaceful, An Elephant in the Garden and Born to Run. He was made Children s Laureate from 2003 to 2005, a role which took him all over the country to inspire children with the joy of reading stories.

About this edition

• Publisher: Fourth Estate
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0007387261
• ISBN 13: 9780007387267
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 307