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Peter Dickinson (1) (1927–2015)

Author of Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits

For other authors named Peter Dickinson, see the disambiguation page.

85+ Works 9,741 Members 239 Reviews 27 Favorited

About the Author

Peter Dickinson was born in Livingstone, Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia on December 16, 1927. He served in the British Army before receiving a B.A. in English literature from King's College, Cambridge in 1951. He was an assistant editor and reviewer for Punch Magazine for seventeen years. His first show more book, The Weathermonger, was published in 1968. He has written over 50 books for adults and young adults. His works for adults include Death of a Unicorn, Skeleton-in-Waiting, Perfect Gallows, The Yellow Room Conspiracy, and Some Deaths Before Dying. His works for young adults include The Iron Lion, The Ropemaker, Angel Isle, and In the Palace of the Khans. He has won several awards including the Boston Globe Horn Book Award in 1989 for Eva, the Carnegie Medal in 1979 for Tulku and in 1980 for City of Gold, the Whitbread Children's Prize for Tulku, and the Crime Writer's Golden Dagger for Skin Deep in 1968 and A Pride of Heroes in 1969. In 2009, he was awarded the OBE for services to literature. He died after a brief illness on December 16, 2015 at the age of 88. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Series

Works by Peter Dickinson

Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits (2002) — Author — 898 copies
The Ropemaker (2001) 682 copies
Eva (1988) 669 copies
The Flight of Dragons (1979) 477 copies
Fire: Tales of Elemental Spirits (2009) — Author — 403 copies
A Bone From a Dry Sea (1992) 321 copies
The Kin (1998) 287 copies
The Weathermonger (1968) 268 copies
The Blue Hawk (1976) 262 copies
The Glass-Sided Ants' Nest (1968) 217 copies
King and Joker (1976) 216 copies
The Tears of the Salamander (2003) 205 copies
Tulku (1979) 191 copies
The Old English Peep Show (1969) 189 copies
The Devil's Children (1970) 178 copies
The Poison Oracle (1974) 170 copies
Death of a Unicorn (1984) 166 copies
The Yellow Room Conspiracy (1994) 164 copies
Heartsease (1969) 162 copies
Angel Isle (2006) 158 copies
AK (1990) 152 copies
The Changes: A Trilogy (1975) 145 copies
The Dancing Bear (1972) 134 copies
Merlin Dreams (1988) 124 copies
One Foot in the Grave (1979) 119 copies
Hindsight (1983) 119 copies
The Last Houseparty (1982) 115 copies
The Gift (1973) 115 copies
Suth's Story (1998) 106 copies
Some Deaths Before Dying (1999) 105 copies
The Lively Dead (1975) 105 copies
Walking Dead (1977) 103 copies
The Green Gene (1973) 102 copies
Skeleton-in-Waiting (1989) 99 copies
Sleep and His Brother (1971) 94 copies
Perfect Gallows (1988) 92 copies
Play Dead (1991) 92 copies
The Lizard in the Cup (1972) 91 copies
The Kin: Po's Story (1998) 87 copies
Tefuga (1986) 79 copies
Emma Tupper's Diary (1971) 78 copies
The Seventh Raven (1981) 76 copies
The Sinful Stones (1970) 74 copies
A Summer in the Twenties (1987) 73 copies
Noli's Story (1998) 72 copies
Earth and Air (2012) 71 copies
Time and the Clock Mice (1994) 71 copies
Healer (1983) 70 copies
Mana's Story (1998) 68 copies
The Lion Tamer's Daughter (1997) 61 copies
Annerton Pit (1977) 55 copies
Box of Nothing (1985) 55 copies
Inside Grandad (2004) 55 copies
Chuck and Danielle (1996) 48 copies
Shadow of a Hero (1994) 45 copies
Giant Cold (1984) 24 copies
Chance, Luck, and Destiny (1975) 23 copies
In the Palace of the Khans (2012) 18 copies
Touch and Go (1999) 14 copies
The Iron Lion (1983) 11 copies
Hepzibah (1978) 10 copies
Hundreds and Hundreds (1984) — Editor; Contributor — 8 copies
Flight [short story] (1985) 4 copies
Mole Hole (1987) 3 copies
Mermaid Song [novelette] (2002) 2 copies
L'Oracle empoisonné (2004) 1 copy
Sea Serpent [novella] (2002) 1 copy
Kraken [novelette] (2002) 1 copy

Associated Works

Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886) — Afterword, some editions — 3,246 copies
Imaginary Lands (1985) — Contributor — 354 copies
Horse Tales (1976) — Contributor — 75 copies
Verdict of 13 (1978) — Contributor — 71 copies
The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 12 (1986) — Contributor — 49 copies
The Flight of Dragons [1982 film] (1982) — Original book — 25 copies
The After Midnight Ghost Book (1980) — Contributor — 14 copies
Guardian Angels (1987) — Contributor — 11 copies
Beware! Beware!: Chilling Tales (1989) — Contributor — 6 copies
Cricket Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 6, February 1975 (1975) — Contributor — 5 copies
Young Winter's Tales 6 (1975) — Contributor — 1 copy

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Common Knowledge

Legal name
Dickinson, Peter Malcolm de Brissac
Other names
DICKINSON, Peter Malcolm DE BRISSAC
DICKINSON, Peter
Birthdate
1927-12-16
Date of death
2015-12-16
Gender
male
Nationality
UK
Country (for map)
England, UK
Birthplace
Livingstone, Zambia
Place of death
Winchester, Hampshire, England, UK
Places of residence
Hampshire, England, UK
Livingstone, Zambia
Education
University of Cambridge (King's College)
Eton College, Eton, Berkshire, England, UK
Occupations
editor
author
poet
Relationships
McKinley, Robin (wife)
Dickinson, John (son)
Organizations
Crime Writers' Association
British Army (1946-1948)
Punch magazine
Awards and honors
Order of the British Empire (Officer, 2009)
Royal Society of Literature (Fellow)
Agent
AP Watt
Short biography
Peter Dickinson was born and raised in Livingstone, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). He received his Bachelor of Arts degree at King's College, Cambridge in 1951. He not only served in the British Army, but also as assistant editor and reviewer for Punch Magazine for seventeen years.
He has written several novels for adults, a television series for juveniles and many books for young people. Keeping track of the audience for whom he is writing is not a problem. He knows the voice in which he is writing and does not have to constantly remind himself. Many of his protagonists are female. He says, "...women are more observant. I think that girls are much more aware of social matters than boys, and therefore make much more interesting observers."

Over the years, Peter Dickinson has won many awards for his novels. In 1982 he was placed on the International Board of Books for Young People Honor List for Tulku and The Iron Lion was selected one of New York Times Notable Books. In 1989 he won the Boston Globe‚Horn Book Award for Eva.

Members

Reviews

Colorful mystery with some interesting cultural components. Guessed the murderer but was still surprised by the conclusion
 
Flagged
cspiwak | 5 other reviews | Mar 6, 2024 |
it was a bit dated-but still well plotted
 
Flagged
cspiwak | 7 other reviews | Mar 6, 2024 |
Adversity
 
Flagged
BooksInMirror | 26 other reviews | Feb 19, 2024 |
I first read this years ago.An entertaining murder mystery set in an alternate timeline where the eldest son of Edward VII and Alexandra survived to become king instead of his younger brother George V. The main difference in the timeline is the royal family. They're an interesting bunch. And the murder mystery is fun to try and solve.

But on rereading it, something King Victor II, Louise's father, does really shocked me. It was written in 1975 but still.
½
 
Flagged
LizTuckwell | 4 other reviews | Dec 5, 2023 |

Lists

Awards

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Statistics

Works
85
Also by
14
Members
9,741
Popularity
#2,450
Rating
3.8
Reviews
239
ISBNs
675
Languages
13
Favorited
27

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