Clive King

David Clive King(28 April 1924 – 10 July 2018) was an English author best known for his children's bookStig of the Dump(1963).He served in theRoyal Navy Volunteer Reservein the last years of the Second World War and then worked for theBritish Councilin a wide range of overseas postings from which he later drew inspiration for some of his novels.

Clive King
Born	David Clive King (1924-04-28)28 April 1924 Richmond, Surrey,England
Died	10 July 2018(2018-07-10)(aged 94) Thurlton,Norfolk,England
Nationality	British
Education	King's School, Rochester
Alma mater	Downing College, Cambridge(BA, 1943) School of Oriental and African Studies
Genre	Children's literature, historical fiction
Notable works	Stig of the Dump(1963)

Life and career

Clive King was born inRichmond, then in Surrey,on 28 April 1924 and grew up inAshinKent.He was educated at theKing's School, Rochesterfrom 1933 to 1941 and then atDowning College, Cambridge,from 1941 to 1943, graduating with a BA in English. From 1943 to 1946 he served as a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, which took him to theArctic,India, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Australia, Malaya (nowMalaysia) and Japan, where he saw the then-recent devastation ofHiroshima.

After leaving the Reserve, King began working for theBritish Counciland was posted toAmsterdamas an administrative officer (1948–50). Subsequent postings for the British Council includedBelfast,as a staff welfare officer (1950–51);Aleppo,as a lecturer (1951–54);Damascus,as a visiting professor at the university (1954–55);Beirut,as lecturer and director of studies (1960–66); andMadras,as an education officer (1971–73). He also served as a warden for East Sussex County Council from 1955 to 1960. He attended theSchool of Oriental and African Studiesin London from 1966 to 1967, then served as an education adviser for the East Pakistan Education Centre inDhakafrom 1967 to 1971.

Clive King started writing when he was a child. He once stated that his first story was a script for a Western film.He had articles published in both his school and college magazines before his first book,Hamid of Aleppo,was published byMacmillan & Co. of New Yorkin 1958. He wroteThe Town that Went South(1959),Stig of the Dump(1963) andThe 22 Letters(1966) before deciding to become a full-time writer in 1973.He went on to write another 20 novels between 1972 and 2008, but he is probably best known forStig of the Dump,which has twice been adapted for television and continues to be taught in British schools.

As a popular children's author King was invited to summer camps for members of thePuffinBook Club Holidays (predecessor to ATE Superweeks), along with other authors such asIan SerraillierandJoan Aiken.

King was married twice, had three children and lived inThurlton,Norfolk.

Influence

Clive King acknowledged the influence of his itinerant career on his writing: "Each of the things which I have written has been inspired by a particular place which I have visited or lived in. The settings are always as authentic as possible and they determine the action."This influence is noticeable in the settings ofThe Night The Water Came(relief operations on a tropical island),Snakes and Snakes(India) andThe 22 Letters(the Middle East).

Hamid of Aleppo

Hamid of Aleppo(1958), illustrated byGiovannetti,follows the adventures of aSyrian Golden Hamster.Hamid has no idea what sort of creature he is. The camel tells him he is a desert rat; the tortoise calls him a fat cat without a tail. Hamid is busy digging new tunnels in his home in the side of a hill where he unearths many Things. When Hamid leaves his tunnel home he brings with him many of the Things he has found there. After many travels and encounters with other wayfarers, Hamid digs a tunnel which brings him to the surface in the office of the Director of a Museum, who explains to Hamid that he is a Syrian Golden Hamster and that his Things are relics of antiquity. Hamid the Syrian Golden Hamster donates his Things to the Museum and is rewarded.

Stig of the Dump

Stig of the Dump(1963), illustrated byEdward Ardizzone,follows the adventures of a boy who discovers a Stone-Age cave-dweller living at the bottom of a disused chalk pit in Kent that has been used as an unofficial rubbish dump. The concept does not explicitly involve any of the common fantasy devices such as timeslip or magic.The book has been reprinted many times and has been adapted for television twice.

The 22 Letters

The 22 Letters(1966), illustrated by Richard Kennedy, was the 250th title published byPuffin Books.Set in the easternMediterraneanworld of the 15th century BC, the story follows the adventures of the three sons of aPhoenicianmaster builder through three loosely linked stories in which they travel to theSinai Peninsula,to the court of King Minos inCreteand toUgarit.They return and save their city from invasion with the help of the three inventions they have found:celestial navigation,horsemanshipandAlpha beticwriting. In its timeThe 22 Letterswas considered, at over 300 pages, to be very long for a children's book, although its scholarship and scope were admired.

Bibliography

Fiction

• Hamid of Aleppo,illustrated by Giovannetti. New York, Macmillan 1958
• The Town That Went South,illustrated by Maurice Bartlett. New York, Macmillan 1959; London, Penguin 1961
• Stig of the Dump,illustrated byEdward Ardizzone.London, Penguin 1963 (ISBN9780140301960)
• The 22 Letters,illustrated by Richard Kennedy. London, Hamish Hamilton 1966; New York, Coward McCann 1967;ISBN978-0-14-030250-9
• The Night the Water Came,illustrated by Mark Peppé. London, Longman 1973; New York, Crowell 1979
• Snakes and Snakes,illustrated by Richard Kennedy. London, Kestrel 1975
• Me and My Million.London, Kestrel 1976; New York, Crowell 1979
• The Inner Ringseries, illustrated by Jacqueline Atkinson. London, Ernest Benn 1976
  • The Accident
  • First Day Out
  • High Jacks, Low Jacks
  • The Secret
• The Devil's Cut,illustrated byVal Biro.London, Hodder & Stoughton 1978
• Ninny's Boat,illustrated by Ian Newsham. London, Kestrel 1980; New York, Macmillan 1981
• The Sound of Propellers1986
• The Seashore People1987
• A Touch of Class1995

Plays

• Poles Apart,produced London, 1975
• The World of Light,produced London, 1976
• Good Snakes, Bad Snakes1977
• Get the Message,produced London, 1987

Other

• The Birds from Africa,illustrated by Diana Groves. London, Macdonald 1980
• Bells for Christmas,with songs by Robert Pell, Macdonald Educational 1981

External links

• Clive King biography and bibliography
• Berquist, Laura (1998).Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum: A Guide to Catholic Home Education(3 ed.). Ignatius Press. p. 101.ISBN978-0-89870-660-4.– listsThe 22 Lettersas "especially enjoyable"
• Penguin Books website obituary