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Sometimes referred to as the Second City as it is second in size only to London, 120 miles away. Formerly part of Warwickshire, it stands at the heart of the industrial West Midlands and its growth has subsumed many formerly outlying small villages.
Location map of Birmingham courtesy of Streetmap.co.uk
Its literary connections are numerous, as the following details indicate (arranged in alphabetical order).
Walter Allen (1911-1995), critic and novelist, was born in Aston, Birmingham, the son of a silversmith. He won a scholarship to King Edward VI Grammar School, Aston, and went on to study English at the local University in 1929.
The novelist David Armstrong (1946- ) was born in Birmingham.
The novelist Florence L. Barclay (1862-1920), author of The rosary (1909), visited the city on several occasions to give religious lectures.
Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953) went to school at Edgbaston's Oratory School, where he wrote his first work, Buzenval.
The writer Kenneth Bird (1916-1993) was based for many years at BBC Pebble Mill, Birmingham, working on The Archers and other radio programmes.
Philip Callow (1924-2007) was born in Stechford, Birmingham. He wrote many novels set in the Midlands even though he moved away from the area in adulthood.
Bruce Chatwin (1940-1989) was a successful auctioneer before becoming a traveller, journalist and author. His father was a West Midlands solicitor and Bruce spent part of his childhood in West Heath (now part of Birmingham).
The novelist and biographer Jonathan Coe (1961-) was born in Birmingham and attended King Edward's School in the city before studying English Literature at Trinity College, Cambridge. After completing a Phd at Warwick University he went on to teach at Warwick.
The novelist, Jim Crace (1946- ), has used Birmingham as a background to his political and social commentary of society.
The Black Country born novelist, Judith Cutler (1946- ), worked for many years at Matthew Boulton College, Birmingham, which inspired her to set her first crime novel, Dying fall (1995), featuring lecturer Sophie Rivers, in a fictional further education college.
Gul Y Davis, novelist, lives in Birmingham.
Roshan Doug (1963- ) was appointed Poet Laureate for Birmingham in October 2000. Born in India, he has lived in and around Birmingham. He is Lecturer in English at Dudley College and a part-time lecturer in the English department at Birmingham University.
John Drinkwater (1882-1937), poet and dramatist, lived here and managed the Pilgrim Players, later becoming the Birmingham Repertory Company.
R. J. Ellory (1965-) has had a run of success with his crime novels set in America, the first being published as recently as 2003. He was born in Birmingham and continues to live there.
Jeffrey Farnol (1878-1952), novelist was born at Aston.
The poet Roy Fisher (1930- ) was born in Handsworth, Birmingham and educated at the local Grammar School before taking a degree at Birmingham University.
Henry Green (1905-1973), novelist, was employed at his father's engineering works in the city, the basis for his novel, Living (1929). He returned to Birmingham after the Second World War to become managing director of the firm.
David Hart (1940- ) was Birmingham's Poet Laureate from 1997 to 1998.
William Hutton (1723-1815), poet and diarist, moved to Birmingham in 1750 and later wrote about the infamous Birmingham Riots in 1791.
Catherine Hutton (1756-1846), novelist, lived in Birmingham all her life and wrote to many of the well-known literary figures of her day.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) lived in the city for a while (around 1734) and met his wife, Elizabeth Porter. He wrote articles for the Birmingham Journal and made some translations.
The poet, Charles Lloyd (1775-1839), was born in Birmingham and destined to join his father's banking business. A visit by Samuel Taylor Coleridge to the city led to Charles Lloyd becoming his pupil and moving away in 1796, aged 21.
Alan Mahar, novelist, founded the Tindal Street Fiction Group in Birmingham.
Priscilla Masters (1952- ) trained as a nurse in Birmingham, before becoming a writer of medical and detective dramas.
George Mogridge (1787-1854), author of many books for children, was born at Ashted.
Clare Morrall (1952- ), novelist. Her first book was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2003. She lives and works in Birmingham.
Constance Naden (1858-1889), poet and philosopher, was born at 15 Francis Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham and was educated locally at a Unitarian School. She attended classes at the Birmingham and Midlands Institute and later became student at Mason College. A keen member of the Birmingham Natural History Society from its inception. After an extensive foreign tour she settled in London, but was buried in Key Hill Cemetery, Hockley, Birmingham.
Bessie Rayner Parkes (1829-1925) poet and mother of Hilaire Belloc, was born in Birmingham.
The politician Enoch Powell (1912-1998) was also a poet of some repute, with four published collections to his name. He was born in Birmingham and maintained his connection with the West Midlands by serving as the Member of Parliament for Wolverhampton South West for 24 years.
Henry Reed (1914-1986) was born at Erdington, Birmigham, in 1914. He was educated at the King Edward VI Grammar School, Aston, Birmingham before going on to the University.
The novelist, Norman Samuda-Smith, was born in Birmingham.
Joseph Henry Shorthouse (1834-1903), novelist, born in Great Charles Street and lived in various parts of the city. He is buried in Old Edgbaston cemetery.
J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973), novelist, lived at Hall Green from the age of three and the area provided inspiration for Hobbiton featured in The Hobbit. He went to school in Birmingham and the family moved around outskirts of the growing city, particularly in Edgbaston.
Arthur Henry Ward (1886-1959), the author of the Fu Manchu thrillers written under the pseudonym of Sax Rohmer, was born in Birmingham.
The academic and writer Rex Warner (1905-1986) was born in the city , as was the prolific novelist Emma Jane Worboise (1825-1887).
The novelist John Wyndham (1903-1969) lived at Edgbaston until he was eight years old.
Benjamin Zephania (1958- ), poet, grew up in the Lozells district of Handsworth, Birmingham.
The University of Birmingham continues to enjoy a reputation as a centre of excellence in literature. Francis Brett Young (1884-1954) studied medicine but subsequntly turned to literature, later featuring the city as "North Bromwich" in some of his novels. Henry Treece (1911-1966), poet and novelist, graduated in 1933 after reading English, History and Spanish. David Lodge (1935- ), novelist and literary critic, taught at the University of Birmingham from 1960, becoming Professor of Modern English Literature. Amongst the many aspiring writers he taught was Judith Cutler (1946- ) who went on to write a series of well-received detective novels. Walter Allen (1911-1995), studied English at the University and counted amongst his circle of friends Louis MacNeice (1907-1963) and Henry Reed (1914-1986) who became a first-class honours graduate, gaining his Master of Arts with a thesis on Thomas Hardy. The poet Roshan Doug (1963- ) is a part-time lecturer in the English department.
Page created 1 October 2002 and last updated
4 May 2009
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