Storey, David (1933-2017), was an English novelist and playwright known for his portrayals of working-class life in industrial northern England. Storey’s novels and dramas focus on class conflicts, changes in society, sports, and personal relationships. He won the 1976 Booker Prize for his autobiographical novel Saville (1976). The prize is the United Kingdom’s highest literary award.
David Malcolm Storey was born on July 13, 1933, in Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. His father was a coal miner. Storey studied at the Wakefield School of Art and at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. He was a professional rugby player from 1952 to 1956 while attending art school. Storey worked as a teacher, farmworker, postman, tent erector, and bus conductor. His family background and working experiences all influenced his writing.
Saville is the story of a Yorkshire miner’s son who grows apart from his family and his village because of his education. The novel reflects the economic and social changes in England following the end of World War II in 1945. This Sporting Life (1960), Storey’s first published novel, is perhaps his best-known work of fiction. The story concerns a professional rugby player who becomes emotionally involved with his landlady. Storey wrote the screenplay for a popular 1963 motion-picture adaptation of the novel.
Radcliffe (1963) is a dark, violent novel that explores class conflict and homosexuality. Storey’s other novels include Flight into Camden (1960), Pasmore (1972), A Temporary Life (1973), A Prodigal Child (1983), Present Times (1984), and A Serious Man (1998). His poetry was collected in Storey’s Lives: Poems 1951-1991 (1992).
Storey’s first play was The Restoration of Arnold Middleton (1967), about a schoolteacher driven insane by his teaching job while his marriage falls apart. Storey’s drama In Celebration (1969) uses a 40th wedding anniversary celebration to contrast two generations of a family. Storey examined the differing attitudes of workers and employers in The Contractor (1969), in which the action consists of erecting and dismantling a large tent. Home (1970) portrays life in a mental institution. The Changing Room (1971) explores relationships among members of a rugby team. Life Class (1974) is set in an art school. Storey died on March 27, 2017.
