List of Cornish writers

This is a list of writers in English and Cornish, who are associated with Cornwall and Cornish linguists (Cornish: Rol a skriforyon Kernewek). Not all of them are native Cornish people.

Some Cornish writers have reached a high level of prominence, e.g. William Golding, who won the Nobel Prize for literature (in 1983), D. M. Thomas who won the Cheltenham Prize for Literature and Arthur Quiller-Couch ("Q").

Some of the "incomers" have written extensively about Cornwall and the Cornish, e.g. Daphne du Maurier, who went as far as joining Mebyon Kernow.

Historians and scholars

See List of Cornish historians

Novelists

Denys Val Baker, novelist and writer
A. P. Bateman, thriller writer and bestselling author^[4]^{[citation needed]}
Wilfred Bennetto, writer of the first full-length novel in Cornish
Janie Bolitho, crime writer^[5]
W. J. Burley, Wycliffe series
Jack Clemo, poet
Myrna Combellack, novelist and scholar
Michael J Darracott, writer, lived in Newlyn ^[6]
Daphne du Maurier^[7]
Martin Fido. crime writer
Patrick Gale
Robert Goddard
William Golding, Nobel laureate^[8]
Winston Graham, Poldark series^[9]
Tim Heald^[10]
Joseph Hocking, author and preacher
Silas Hocking, author and preacher^[11]
Ann Kelley
Alan M. Kent, poet, novelist and scholar
John le Carré^[12]
Charles Lee, (1870–1956)^[13]
Katharine Lee (Kitty Lee Jenner, 1854–1936)
Herman Cyril McNeile, "Sapper", novelist
Jessica Mann, crime writer^[14]
Charlotte Mary Matheson, novelist
Wyl Menmuir, novelist^[15]
Gertrude Parsons, Roman Catholic novelist
Mark Guy Pearse, author and preacher
Susan Penhaligon
Rosamunde Pilcher
Arthur Quiller-Couch, aka "Q", novelist and scholar
Alastair Reynolds, lived in Cornwall as child
Jean Rhys, novelist, lived at Bude for a period
Angie Sage, author and illustrator^[16]
Howard Spring, lived in Falmouth
Sharon Tregenza
Derek Tangye
Nigel Tangye
D. M. Thomas
E. V. Thompson
Enys Tregarthen, writer and folklorist
John Coulson Tregarthen, novelist and naturalist
Craig Weatherhill, archaeologist, Cornish historian, writer
Mary Wesley
Colin Wilson
Leo Walmsley, writer and novelist^[17]

Poets

Brother Anthony, poet and translator from Korean
John Barber^{[citation needed]}
Wilfred Bennetto, poet and novelist writing in Cornish^[18]
John Betjeman, Poet Laureate, English writer and scholar, frequent visitor to Cornwall and writer on culture
Ronald Bottrall
Arthur Caddick^{[citation needed]}
Charles Causley, poet from Launceston
Helena Charles
Jack Clemo, poet
Jane Crewdson
Caroline Fox, diarist
William Golding
W. S. Graham, Scottish poet
Geoffrey Grigson, poet and prose writer
Thomas Hardy, English novelist and poet, met his wife Emma Gifford, while he was working at St Juliot church, near Boscastle^[19] (some of his poems are about events in Cornwall)
John Harris, miner and poet
Richard Jenkin
Ann Kelley
Les Merton, varying styles, including dialect poetry; also a publisher
Christopher Middleton
Bernard Moore
Peter Mundy, traveller from Penryn

Robert Morton Nance
Mick Paynter, contemporary poet writing in Cornish
William Henry Paynter
Margaret Steuart Pollard
Richard Polwhele
David Prowse (Poet) AKA 'The People's Poet' and 'The Gardening Poet'^[20]
Henry Quick
Arthur Quiller-Couch
Peter Redgrove
A. L. Rowse, historian, poet and scholar
Tim Saunders, contemporary poet writing in Cornish
Penelope Shuttle
Henry Sewell Stokes, poet
D. M. Thomas
Terence Tiller, poet and radio producer
Lawrence Upton
Robert Walling

Playwrights and dramatists

Nick Darke, playwright^[21]
Daphne du Maurier, novelist and playwright
Samuel Foote, playwright and actor
William Golding
William Killigrew, playwright
Charles Lee
Donald Rawe
D. M. Thomas

Children's writers

Linguists and writers in Cornish

Wilfred Bennetto, poet and novelist writing in Cornish^[18]
John Boson, Nicholas Boson, and Thomas Boson, 18th-century writers in the Cornish language^[25]
Richard Carew, translator and antiquary^[26]
John Davey, of Zennor, last person with any traditional knowledge of Cornish, died 1891: he wrote a few verses in the language
Richard Gendall^[27]
Ken George^[28]
Haldreyn (William Morris), poet
Steve Harris, translator and writer^[29]^[30]
Julyan Holmes, scholar
Fred W. P. Jago, linguist and physician
Henry Jenner^[31]
John of Cornwall, medieval grammarian

Robert Morton Nance^[32]
Mick Paynter, contemporary poet writing in Cornish
Tim Saunders, contemporary poet writing in Cornish
William Scawen, soldier and linguist^[33]
A. S. D. Smith, scholar
Tony Snell, poet and linguist
Humphrey Tonkin, Esperantist and professor of English
John Tregear^[34]
Jim Wearne
Nicholas Williams, linguist, translator of the Bible into Cornish

Bards of the Gorseth Kernow

This is an honorary position, not all of the bards are Cornish or based in Cornwall. For purposes of brevity, those mentioned above are not repeated.

References

^ Fox, Caroline (1883). Horace N. Pym (ed.). Memories of Old Friends. London: Smith, Elder, and Co. – Frontispiece, from an etching by Sir Hubert Herkomer, after a painting by Samuel Laurence, depicting Caroline Fox, age 27. Volume 1 available online at Internet Archive and Volume 2 at Internet Archive
^ Robinson, William (1891). Friends of a Half Century. London: Edward Hicks. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-524-04124-6. Retrieved 9 December 2007. caroline fox. – page 138
^ Memories . . .
^ "A P Bateman author thrillers kindle bestseller novels mysteries spy". A P Bateman - Author.
^ "Janie Bolitho". Retrieved 21 March 2009.
^ "Proper Cornish Childhood".
^ Margaret Forster, 'Du Maurier, Dame Daphne (1907–1989)’, rev., Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 20 December 2008
^ Kevin McCarron, 'Golding, Sir William Gerald (1911–1993)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, May 2006 accessed 20 December 2008
^ Dennis Barker, 'Graham, Winston Mawdsley (1908?–2003)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edn, Oxford University Press, January 2007 accessed 20 December 2008
^ Heald, Tim (12 March 2008). "Curriculum Vitae". Tim Heald's website. Archived from the original on 22 September 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
^ R. G. Burnett, 'Hocking, Silas Kitto (1850–1935)’, rev. Sayoni Basu, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2006 accessed 16 December 2008
^ Podolsky, J. D.; Wright, John (13 September 1993). "John Le Carre". People. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
^ "Charles Lee, author". Cornwall Calling. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
^ "Jessica Mann". Archived from the original on 4 November 2001. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
^ Johnson, Helen (3 August 2016). "Stockport-born author is in the running to win the Man Booker Prize 2016". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
^ "An Interview with Angie Sage". BookBrowse. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
^ Shells and Bright Stones, Stead, Smith Settle 2001
^ ^a ^b "The Old Croydonians Association". www.theoldcroydonians.org.uk.
^ Michael Millgate, 'Hardy, Thomas (1840–1928)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, May 2006 accessed 16 December 2008
^ "Ordinary People". BBC.
^ Michell, Roger (15 June 2005). "Obituary: Nick Darke". The Observer. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
^ "Walter and Wilbur". Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
^ "Kernowland - Home". Archived from the original on 18 January 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
^ "Sharon Tregenza award winning children's author". Sharon Tregenza.
^ Matthew Spriggs, 'Boson family (per. c.1675–1730)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 2008 accessed 16 December 2008
^ S. Mendyk, 'Carew, Richard (1555–1620)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 16 December 2008
^ Sale, Jonathan (31 July 2005). "How do you say 'bugger off' in Cornish?". The Observer. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
^ "Piw on ni? Who are we?". Kesva an Taves Kernewek and Cornish. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
^ "Karol Nadelik". Kowethas an Yeth Kernewek.
^ "Briallen ha'n Alyon". Ors Sempel.
^ Peter W. Thomas, 'Jenner, Henry (1848–1934)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edn, Oxford University Press, May 2005 accessed 16 December 2008
^ Brian Murdoch, 'Nance, Robert Morton (1873–1959)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 16 December 2008
^ Matthew Spriggs, 'Scawen, William (1600–1689)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 16 December 2008
^ "The Tregear Homilies". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 20 November 2009.

External links

Poetry Cornwall

[1] Fox, Caroline (1883). Horace N. Pym (ed.). Memories of Old Friends. London: Smith, Elder, and Co. – Frontispiece, from an etching by Sir Hubert Herkomer, after a painting by Samuel Laurence, depicting Caroline Fox, age 27. Volume 1 available online at Internet Archive and Volume 2 at Internet Archive

[2] Robinson, William (1891). Friends of a Half Century. London: Edward Hicks. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-524-04124-6. Retrieved 9 December 2007. caroline fox. – page 138

[3] Memories . . .

[4] "A P Bateman author thrillers kindle bestseller novels mysteries spy". A P Bateman - Author.

[5] "Janie Bolitho". Retrieved 21 March 2009.

[6] "Proper Cornish Childhood".

[7] Margaret Forster, 'Du Maurier, Dame Daphne (1907–1989)’, rev., Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 20 December 2008

[8] Kevin McCarron, 'Golding, Sir William Gerald (1911–1993)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, May 2006 accessed 20 December 2008

[9] Dennis Barker, 'Graham, Winston Mawdsley (1908?–2003)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edn, Oxford University Press, January 2007 accessed 20 December 2008

[10] Heald, Tim (12 March 2008). "Curriculum Vitae". Tim Heald's website. Archived from the original on 22 September 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2008.

[11] R. G. Burnett, 'Hocking, Silas Kitto (1850–1935)’, rev. Sayoni Basu, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2006 accessed 16 December 2008

[12] Podolsky, J. D.; Wright, John (13 September 1993). "John Le Carre". People. Retrieved 20 December 2008.

[13] "Charles Lee, author". Cornwall Calling. Retrieved 16 December 2008.

[14] "Jessica Mann". Archived from the original on 4 November 2001. Retrieved 21 March 2009.

[15] Johnson, Helen (3 August 2016). "Stockport-born author is in the running to win the Man Booker Prize 2016". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.

[16] "An Interview with Angie Sage". BookBrowse. Retrieved 16 December 2008.

[17] Shells and Bright Stones, Stead, Smith Settle 2001

[Old_Croydonian_Teachers_database-18] "The Old Croydonians Association". www.theoldcroydonians.org.uk.

[19] Michael Millgate, 'Hardy, Thomas (1840–1928)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, May 2006 accessed 16 December 2008

[20] "Ordinary People". BBC.

[21] Michell, Roger (15 June 2005). "Obituary: Nick Darke". The Observer. Retrieved 16 December 2008.

[22] "Walter and Wilbur". Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2014.

[23] "Kernowland - Home". Archived from the original on 18 January 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2022.

[24] "Sharon Tregenza award winning children's author". Sharon Tregenza.

[25] Matthew Spriggs, 'Boson family (per. c.1675–1730)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 2008 accessed 16 December 2008

[26] S. Mendyk, 'Carew, Richard (1555–1620)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 16 December 2008

[27] Sale, Jonathan (31 July 2005). "How do you say 'bugger off' in Cornish?". The Observer. Retrieved 16 December 2008.

[28] "Piw on ni? Who are we?". Kesva an Taves Kernewek and Cornish. Retrieved 16 December 2008.

[29] "Karol Nadelik". Kowethas an Yeth Kernewek.

[30] "Briallen ha'n Alyon". Ors Sempel.

[31] Peter W. Thomas, 'Jenner, Henry (1848–1934)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edn, Oxford University Press, May 2005 accessed 16 December 2008

[32] Brian Murdoch, 'Nance, Robert Morton (1873–1959)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 16 December 2008

[33] Matthew Spriggs, 'Scawen, William (1600–1689)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 16 December 2008

[34] "The Tregear Homilies". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 20 November 2009.

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