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James Aldridge James Aldridge i(A29859 works by) (a.k.a. Harold Edward James Aldridge)
Born: Established: 10 Jul 1918 White Hills, Bendigo, Bendigo area, Ballarat - Bendigo area, Victoria, ; Died: Ceased: 2015
Gender: Male
Expatriate assertion
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BiographyHistory

James Aldridge was born in White Hills, Victoria. He worked briefly for several Melbourne newspapers before moving to England where he pursued a career in journalism. Aldridge worked as a war correspondent during the Second World War, but later left journalism to write novels full-time. Since moving to England, he has rarely visited Australia.

Aldridge published three novels during the 1940s and became well-known, and was often criticised, for the Marxist tone of his fiction. He has written many novels, but is best-known in Australia for My Brother Tom (1966) and other "St Helen" novels like A Sporting Proposition (1973 - also known as Ride a Wild Pony), The True Story of Lili Stubeck (1984) and The True Story of Spit McPhee (1986). For several of the books in this series Aldridge received prizes from the Children's Book Council and the New South Wales Premier's Awards. My Brother Tom and Ride a Wild Pony have been adapted for television and cinema, respectively. Aldridge is widely admired for his descriptions of rural Australia and his explorations of the social tensions experienced in country towns.

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • Monash Diographical Dictionary of 20th Century Australia gives Aldridge's year of birth as 1919.

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon The True Story of Spit MacPhee Ringwood : Viking , 1986 Z861914 1986 single work children's fiction children's "When young Spit MacPhee came to live with his grandfather, the people of the Australian country town of St Helen feared for his future. For Fyfe MacPhee was a crazy old man, and barefoot Spit had to fend for himself along the riverbank where they lived."
1986 winner FAW ANA Literature Award
1986 winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Ethel Turner Prize
1986 winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Children's Book Award
y separately published work icon The True Story of Lilli Stubeck Melbourne : Hyland House , 1984 Z831040 1984 single work novel young adult 'A wealthy woman takes on the daughter of a poor family to try to tame her, but she doesn't account for Lilli's determination to be herself.'
1985 winner CBCA Book of the Year Awards Book of the Year Award Older Readers
Last amended 21 May 2015 08:36:38
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