64-565: Ian Russell McEwan CH CBE FRSA FRSL (born 21 June 1948) is a British novelist and screenwriter . In 2008, The Times featured him on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945" and The Daily Telegraph ranked him number 19 in its list of the "100 most powerful people in British culture ". McEwan began his career writing sparse, Gothic short stories. His first two novels, The Cement Garden (1978) and The Comfort of Strangers (1981), earned him
128-568: A London conference on Brexit, apparently referring to what he believed to be the older demographic of leave voters, McEwan stated that "one and a half million oldsters freshly in their graves" would result in a putative second referendum returning a Remain outcome. McEwan lives in London, and has been married twice. His first marriage was to Penny Allen, an astrologer and alternative practitioner, with whom he had two sons. The marriage ended in 1995. Two years later in 1997, McEwan married Annalena McAfee,
192-466: A case study identical to the one around which the narrative is based. The appendix is an invention of McEwan, with its authors – Wenn and Camia – being an anagram of his name. Although fictional, some reviewers took the document to be a factual case, with a review in The New York Times criticizing McEwan for having "simply stuck too close to the facts". McEwan later submitted the paper to
256-536: A cry interrupts them. A helium balloon , with a ten-year-old boy in the basket and his grandfather being dragged behind it, has been ripped from its moorings. Joe immediately joins several other men in an effort to bring the balloon to safety. In the rescue attempt one man, John Logan, a doctor, dies. Another of the would-be rescuers is Jed Parry. Joe and Jed exchange a passing glance, a glance which indelibly burns an obsession into Jed's soul and has devastating consequences, for Jed suffers from de Clerambault's syndrome ,
320-449: A disorder that causes the sufferer to believe that someone is in love with him or her. Delusional and dangerous, Jed gradually wreaks havoc in Joe's life, testing the limits of his beloved rationalism, threatening Clarissa's love for him, and driving him to frustration. Joe goes to meet Jean Logan (John Logan's wife) at her Oxford home. Jean Logan does not want to hear about how her husband was
384-479: A hero, but Joe tells her that her husband was a brave man acting out a fatherly instinct to protect a vulnerable child. Mrs Logan hands Joe a bag which holds a picnic, and then hands him a scarf smelling of rose-water, and asks Joe how many doors were open on Logan's car. She accuses her dead husband of having an affair with another woman and asks Joe to phone other people who were present at the accident to ascertain if they had seen anyone with Logan. She says her husband
448-493: A journalist and writer who was formerly the editor of The Guardian ' s Review section. In 2002, McEwan discovered that he had a brother who had been given up for adoption during the Second World War; the story became public in 2007. The brother, a bricklayer named David Sharp, was born six years earlier than McEwan when their mother was married to a different man. Sharp has the same mother and father as McEwan but
512-613: A libretto titled For You with music composed by Michael Berkeley . In 2006, McEwan was accused of plagiarism; specifically that a passage in Atonement (2001) closely echoed a passage from a memoir, No Time for Romance , published in 1977 by Lucilla Andrews . McEwan acknowledged using the book as a source for his work. McEwan had included a brief note at the end of Atonement , referring to Andrews's autobiography, among several other works. The incident recalled critical controversy over his debut novel The Cement Garden , key elements of
576-407: A phone call from Jed Parry, who is at Joe's home with Clarissa. Upon arriving at his apartment, Joe sees Jed sitting on the sofa with Clarissa. Jed then asks for Joe's forgiveness, before taking out a knife and pointing it at his own neck. To prevent Jed from killing himself, Joe shoots him in the arm. Joe and Clarissa go to meet Mrs Logan. They take her and her two infant children on a picnic next to
640-438: A plebiscite of dubious purpose and unacknowledged status. From our agriculture to our science and our universities, from our law to our international relations to our commerce and trade and politics, and who and what we are in the world – all is up for a curious, unequal renegotiation with our European neighbours". McEwan's piece appeared to conclude with a sense of bewilderment and unease at how events were panning out, anticipating
704-650: A quasi-companion piece reflecting on the aftermath of the Nazi era in Europe and the end of the Cold War. McEwan followed these works with his second book for children, The Daydreamer (1994). His 1997 novel, Enduring Love , about the relationship between a science writer and a stalker, was popular with critics, although it was not shortlisted for the Booker Prize . It was adapted into a film in 2004. In 1998, he won
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#1732784021205768-514: A return to literary fiction with The Child in Time (1987), winner of the 1987 Whitbread Novel Award . After The Child in Time , McEwan began to move away from the darker, more unsettling material of his earlier career and towards the style that would see him reach a wider readership and gain significant critical acclaim. This new phase began with the publication of the mid- Cold War espionage drama The Innocent (1990), and Black Dogs (1992),
832-421: A river, to which they have invited the woman her husband was suspected of having an affair with. It turns out that on the day of the balloon accident the young woman had been with a university lecturer, thirty years her senior, with whom she was having a secret relationship; Dr Logan had simply offered them both a ride after the lecturer's car had broken down. The novel ends with the two Logan children and Joe beside
896-466: A ship near the north pole discussing environmental concerns". McEwan observed: "The novel's protagonist Michael Beard has been awarded a Nobel prize for his pioneering work on physics, and has discovered that winning the coveted prize has interfered with his work." He said that the work was not a comedy: "I hate comic novels; it's like being wrestled to the ground and being tickled, being forced to laugh", instead, that it had extended comic stretches. Solar
960-524: A society that he "abhorred". His comments appeared in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera to defend fellow writer Martin Amis against allegations of racism. McEwan, an atheist , said that certain streams of Christianity were "equally absurd" and that he did not "like these medieval visions of the world according to which God is coming to save the faithful and to damn the others". McEwan put forward
1024-632: A win for the Leave or Brexit campaign in June 2016, McEwan wrote a critical opinion article for The Guardian titled "Britain is changed utterly. Unless this summer is just a bad dream", published on 9 July 2016. In the article, McEwan wrote of the consequences of the Brexit vote: "Everything is changed utterly. Or about to be, as soon as your new leader is chosen. The country you live in, the parliamentary democracy that ruled it, for good or bad, has been trumped by
1088-602: Is an order of the Commonwealth realms . It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. It was founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire . The order was originally intended to be conferred upon a limited number of persons for whom this special distinction seemed to be the most appropriate form of recognition, constituting an honour dissociated from either
1152-668: Is the Sovereign of the Order of the Companions of Honour, and a maximum of 65 members. Additionally, foreigners or Commonwealth citizens from outside the Commonwealth realms may be added as honorary members. Members are organised into a single class and are appointed by the monarch of the Commonwealth realms in their capacity as sovereign of the order. While membership of the order confers no title or precedence , those inducted into
1216-494: The Booker Prize for Amsterdam . His next novel, Atonement (2001), received considerable acclaim; Time magazine named it the best novel of 2002, and it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. In 2007, the critically acclaimed film Atonement , directed by Joe Wright and starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, was released in cinemas worldwide. His next work, Saturday (2005), follows an especially eventful day in
1280-560: The Falklands War and the Labour Party , led by Tony Benn , eventually wins the 1987 UK general election . In September 2019, McEwan announced a quick surprise follow-up novella inspired by Brexit, The Cockroach . McEwan published his novel Lessons in 2022 to much critical acclaim. Andrew Billen of The Times calls it McEwan's "500-page masterpiece", and The New Statesman claims the novel "may well be remembered as one of
1344-656: The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas paid $ 2 million for McEwan's literary archives. The archives include drafts of all of his later novels. McEwan commented that his novel Atonement started out as a science fiction story set "two or three centuries in the future". In 2018, McEwan was awarded the Bauer- Incroci di civiltà prize in Venice for his literary career. In 2019, McEwan received
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#17327840212051408-758: The International Booker Prize in 2005 and 2007. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL), a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), a Fellow of the Society of Authors , and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . He was awarded the annual Shakespeare Prize by the Alfred Toepfer Foundation , Hamburg, in 1999. He is also a Distinguished Supporter of Humanists UK . He
1472-532: The Jerusalem Prize in 2011, McEwan defended himself against criticism for accepting the prize in light of opposition to Israeli policies, saying: "If you didn't go to countries whose foreign policy or domestic policy is screwed up, you'd never get out of bed". On accepting the honour, he spoke in favour of Israel's existence, security, and freedoms, while strongly attacking Hamas, Israel's policies in Gaza, and
1536-539: The 2010s, Solar , was published by Jonathan Cape and Doubleday in March 2010. In June 2008 at the Hay Festival, McEwan gave a surprise reading of this work-in-progress. The novel includes "a scientist who hopes to save the planet" from the threat of climate change , with inspiration for the novel coming from a Cape Farewell expedition McEwan made in 2005 in which "artists and scientists ... spent several weeks aboard
1600-621: The Board of Trustees of the Kenyon Review honoured McEwan with the Kenyon Review Award for Literary Achievement, writing that "McEwan's stories, novels, and plays are notable for their fierce artistic dramas, exploring unanticipated and often brutal collisions between the ordinary and the extraordinary". In 2008, The Times named McEwan among their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945". In 2010, McEwan received
1664-822: The Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement . In 2020, McEwan was awarded the Goethe Medal , a yearly prize given by the Goethe-Institut honouring non-Germans "who have performed outstanding service for the German language and for international cultural relations". According to the jury, McEwan's literary work ("Machines like us") is "imbued with the essence of contradiction and critical, depth-psychological reflection of social phenomena". Despite harsh attacks in his own country,
1728-541: The Iraq War was that "sometimes there are things we could do [before that war] which we no longer can" in foreign affairs; stated that at one point prior to the 2003 invasion he had hoped to be able to seek an audience with Tony Blair to persuade him not to go ahead with the war; and as someone who voted for the Liberal Democrats in the 2010 UK general election that the then current coalition government of
1792-494: The Palestinians. That's why I think one wants to go to these places to make the point. Turning away will not produce any result." That same year, as part of a wide-ranging interview with Channel 4 News , McEwan discussed the furore that surrounded his remarks on Islamism in 2008, stating: "I remember getting a lot of stick five or six years ago saying something disobliging about jihadists. There were voices, particularly on
1856-749: The Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award. The Helmerich Award is presented annually by the Tulsa Library Trust . On 20 February 2011, McEwan was awarded the Jerusalem Prize for the Freedom of the Individual in Society. He accepted the prize, despite controversy and pressure from groups and individuals opposed to the Israeli government. McEwan responded to his critics, and specifically
1920-533: The United Kingdom should end, stating "Let's either have a Tory government or let Ed Miliband try something different" to try and turn around a country of "great inequity". McEwan is traditionally a Labour Party supporter and said he had his "fingers crossed" that Miliband would become prime minister. Following the referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union resulting in
1984-486: The acceptance of title or the classification of merit. It is now described as being "awarded for having a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine, or government lasting over a long period of time". The first recipients of the order were all decorated for "services in connection with the war " and were listed in The London Gazette . The order consists of the monarch of the Commonwealth realms, who
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2048-402: The allocation of this award to that country's citizens in preference to other Australian honours. The last Australian member, Doug Anthony , former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, died on 20 December 2020. Companions from other Commonwealth realms continue to be appointed, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa , a New Zealand soprano, was given the award in 2018 and Canadian author Margaret Atwood was given
2112-545: The ascension of Theresa May to the leadership of the Conservative Party and her appointment as prime minister, and noting how the previously unthinkable in British politics had actually happened. McEwan's article was published on 9 July, and May effectively won the 2016 Conservative Party leadership election on 11 July, which precipitated her appointment as prime minister two days later. In May 2017, speaking at
2176-468: The award in 2019. Sebastian Coe , Baron Coe CH represented the Order at the 2023 Coronation . The insignia of the order is in the form of an oval medallion, surmounted by a royal crown (but, until recently, surmounted by an imperial crown ), and with a rectangular panel within, depicting on it an oak tree, a shield with the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom hanging from one branch, and, on
2240-405: The boycott campaign in general, stating that there are many countries "whose governments we might loathe or disapprove of" but "Israel–Palestine has become sort of tribal and a touchstone for a certain portion of the intellectual classes. I say this in the context of thinking it is profoundly wrong of the Israeli government not to be pursuing more actively and positively and creatively a solution with
2304-496: The complaints against him and provided further insight into his reasons for accepting the award. He also said he will donate the amount of the prize, "ten thousand dollars to Combatants for Peace , an organisation that brings together Israeli ex-soldiers and Palestinian ex-fighters". In 2012, the University of Sussex presented McEwan with its 50th Anniversary Gold Medal in recognition of his contributions to literature. In 2014,
2368-628: The expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories; these were notable words since the audience included politicians such as the Israeli President Shimon Peres and Nir Barkat , the mayor of Jerusalem. McEwan also personally attended a protest in Sheikh Jarrah against the expansion of Israeli settlements. In 2013, McEwan sharply criticised Stephen Hawking for boycotting a conference in Israel as well as
2432-418: The facts of the incident incorrect. Joe leaves dissatisfied, knowing that Jed is still out there and looking for him. Like the detective, however, Clarissa is sceptical that Jed is stalking Joe and that Joe is in any danger. This, plus the stress Joe suffers at Jed's hands, strains their relationship. Fearing for his safety, Joe purchases a gun through an acquaintance, John Well. On the journey home Joe receives
2496-402: The film rights to Sweet Tooth had been bought by Working Title Films – the company that had adapted Atonement as a film. Sweet Tooth was followed two years later by The Children Act , which concerned High Court judges, UK family law, and the right to die. Two years after The Children Act , McEwan's 2016 novel Nutshell , a short novel closer in style and tone to his earlier works,
2560-421: The finest humanist novels of its age". McEwan has been nominated for the Booker Prize six times to date, winning the prize for Amsterdam in 1998. His other nominations were for The Comfort of Strangers (1981, shortlisted), Black Dogs (1992, shortlisted), Atonement (2001, shortlisted), Saturday (2005, longlisted), and On Chesil Beach (2007, shortlisted). McEwan also received nominations for
2624-531: The following statement on his official site and blog after claiming he was misinterpreted: In 2007, Christopher Hitchens dedicated his book God Is Not Great to McEwan. In 2008, McEwan was among more than 200,000 signatories of a petition to support Italian journalist Roberto Saviano who received multiple death threats and was placed in police protection after exposing the Mafia -like crime syndicate , Camorra , in his 2006 book Gomorrah . McEwan said he hoped
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2688-568: The group British Writers in Support of Palestine (BWISP), in a letter to The Guardian , stating in part, "There are ways in which art can have a longer reach than politics, and for me the emblem in this respect is Daniel Barenboim 's West-Eastern Divan Orchestra – surely a beam of hope in a dark landscape, though denigrated by the Israeli religious right and Hamas . If BWISP is against this particular project, then clearly we have nothing more to say to each other". McEwan's acceptance speech discussed
2752-404: The left shoulder. Enduring Love Enduring Love is a 1997 novel by British writer Ian McEwan . The plot concerns two strangers who become perilously entangled after witnessing a deadly accident. On a beautiful and cloudless day, a middle-aged couple celebrate their union with a picnic. Joe Rose, aged 47, and his long-term partner Clarissa Mellon are about to open a bottle of wine when
2816-527: The left, a mounted knight in armour. The insignia's blue border bears in gold letters the motto IN ACTION FAITHFUL AND IN HONOUR CLEAR , Alexander Pope 's description (in iambic pentameter ) in his Epistle to Mr Addison of James Craggs the Younger , later used on Craggs's monument in Westminster Abbey . Men wear the badge on a neck ribbon (red with golden border threads) and women on a bow at
2880-472: The left, that thought anyone who criticised Islamism was really criticising Islam and therefore racist. Well, those voices have gone quiet because the local atrocities committed by Islamists whether in Pakistan or Mali is so self-evidently vile." In the same interview, McEwan remarked that he felt protesters of the 2003 Iraq War were "vindicated" by what happened subsequently; argued that the chief legacy of
2944-489: The life of a successful neurosurgeon . Saturday won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for 2005. His novel On Chesil Beach (2007) was shortlisted for the 2007 Man Booker Prize and was adapted into a film starring Saoirse Ronan in 2017, for which McEwan wrote the screenplay. McEwan has also written a number of produced screenplays, a stage play, children's fiction, and an oratorio and
3008-473: The nickname "Ian Macabre". These were followed by three novels of some success in the 1980s and early 1990s. His novel Enduring Love was adapted into a film of the same name . He won the Booker Prize with Amsterdam (1998). His next novel, Atonement , garnered acclaim and was adapted into an Oscar -winning film featuring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy . His later novels have included The Children Act , Nutshell , and Machines Like Me . He
3072-567: The order are entitled to use the post-nominal letters CH . Appointments to the order are generally made on the advice of prime ministers of the Commonwealth realms. For Canadians, the advice to the Sovereign can come from a variety of officials. Originally, the order was limited to 50 ordinary members, but in 1943 it was enlarged to 65, with a quota of 45 members for the United Kingdom , seven for Australia , two each for New Zealand and South Africa , and nine for India , Burma , and
3136-542: The other British colonies . The quota numbers were altered in 1970 to 47 for the United Kingdom, seven for Australia, two for New Zealand, and nine for other Commonwealth realms. The quota was adjusted again in 1975 by adding two places to the New Zealand quota and reducing the nine for the other countries to seven. Whilst still able to nominate candidates to the order, the Cabinet of Australia has effectively stopped
3200-483: The petition would help "galvanize" the Italian police into taking seriously the "fundamental matter of civil rights and free speech". McEwan also signed a petition to support the release of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani , an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning after being convicted of committing adultery. In 2009, McEwan joined the 10:10 project, a movement that supports positive action on climate change by encouraging people to reduce their carbon emissions. On winning
3264-732: The plot of which closely mirrored some of those of Our Mother's House , a 1963 novel by British author Julian Gloag , which had also been made into a film. McEwan denied charges of plagiarism, claiming he was unaware of the earlier work. Writing in The Guardian in November 2006, a month after Andrews' death, McEwan professed innocence of plagiarism while acknowledging his debt to the author of No Time for Romance . Several authors defended him, including John Updike , Martin Amis , Margaret Atwood , Thomas Keneally , Kazuo Ishiguro , Zadie Smith , and Thomas Pynchon . McEwan's first novel of
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#17327840212053328-452: The popular movie review site Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a rating of 59% positive reviews. In 2023, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a dramatization written by Kate Clanchy , starring Blake Ritson and Hattie Morahan , and produced and directed by Amber Barnfather . The book contains an appendix purporting to be a scientific paper ("A Homo-Erotic Obsession, with Religious Overtones: A Clinical Variant of de Clerambault's Syndrome") describing
3392-446: The river, Joe telling the children a story about how the river is made up of many particles. In the first of the novel's appendices (a medical report on Jed's condition) we learn that Joe and Clarissa are eventually reconciled, and that they adopt a child. In the second appendix (a letter from Jed to Joe) we learn that even after three years Jed remains uncured and is now living in a psychiatric hospital . Upon release, Enduring Love
3456-419: The writer "openly defends himself against narrow-minded nationalisms" and appears as a passionate pro-European . He was appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to literature. In 2008, McEwan publicly spoke out against Islamism for its views on women and on homosexuality . He was quoted as saying that fundamentalist Islam wanted to create
3520-404: Was a cautious man and probably only died because he was showing off to the woman, trying to prove his manliness, and thereby taking unnecessary risks, rather than hanging back and staying safe. During a lunch with Clarissa and her godfather, Joe witnesses the attempted murder of a man seated at a table next to theirs, resulting in the man being shot in the shoulder. However, Joe realises the bullet
3584-785: Was a collection of short stories, First Love, Last Rites (1975), which won the Somerset Maugham Award in 1976. He achieved notoriety in 1979 when the BBC suspended production of his play Solid Geometry because of its supposed obscenity. His second collection of short stories, In Between the Sheets , was published in 1978. The Cement Garden (1978) and The Comfort of Strangers (1981), his two earliest novels, were both adapted into films. The nature of these works caused him to be nicknamed "Ian Macabre". These were followed by his first book for children, Rose Blanche (1985), and
3648-509: Was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2000 New Year Honours for services to literature. In 2005, he was the first recipient of Dickinson College 's Harold and Ethel L. Stellfox Visiting Scholar and Writers Program Award, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania . In 2008, McEwan was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Literature by University College London , where he had previously taught English literature. In 2006,
3712-565: Was awarded the 1999 Shakespeare Prize , and the 2011 Jerusalem Prize . McEwan was born in Aldershot , Hampshire , on 21 June 1948, the son of David McEwan and Rose Lilian Violet ( née Moore). His father was a working-class Scotsman who had worked his way up through the army to the rank of major. McEwan spent much of his childhood in East Asia (including Singapore ), Germany , and North Africa (including Libya ), where his father
3776-420: Was born from an affair that occurred before they married. After her first husband was killed in combat, McEwan's mother married her lover, and Ian was born a few years later. The brothers are in regular contact and McEwan has written a foreword to Sharp's memoir. McEwan was a long-time friend of the writer and polemicist Christopher Hitchens . Companion of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour
3840-436: Was followed by McEwan's twelfth novel, Sweet Tooth , a meta-fictional historical novel set in the 1970s, and was published in late August 2012. In an interview with The Scotsman newspaper to coincide with publication, McEwan revealed that the impetus for writing Sweet Tooth had been "a way in which I can write a disguised autobiography". He revealed in an interview with The Wall Street Journal , in November 2012, that
3904-565: Was generally well received. According to Book Marks , the book received "positive" reviews based on ten critic reviews with three being "rave" and six being "positive" and one being "mixed". In 2004, Enduring Love was adapted into a film of the same name . The film version was directed by Roger Michell , written by Joe Penhall , and starred Daniel Craig , Rhys Ifans and Samantha Morton , with Bill Nighy , Susan Lynch and Corin Redgrave . The film received mixed reviews from critics, and
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#17327840212053968-466: Was meant for himself and the similar composition of the group of people at the other table misled the two killers into thinking the other man was their target. Before the hit man can deliver the fatal shot Jed Parry intervenes to save the innocent man's life before fleeing the scene. In the subsequent police interview Joe insists that it was Jed Parry who was behind this attack, but the detective does not believe him, possibly because Joe appears to get some of
4032-524: Was posted. His family returned to England when he was 12 years old. He was educated at Woolverstone Hall School in Suffolk ; the University of Sussex , where he received a degree in English literature in 1970; and the University of East Anglia , where he undertook a master's degree in literature (with the option to submit creative writing instead of a critical dissertation). McEwan's first published work
4096-586: Was published. McEwan's next work, a short novella, was titled My Purple Scented Novel – part of which was published previously as a short story by the same title in The New Yorker in 2016. This short work was published to mark McEwan's 70th birthday in June 2018. McEwan followed Nutshell in April 2019 with the alternate history/science fiction novel Machines Like Me . It concerns artificial intelligence and an alternate history in which Great Britain loses
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