Joyce Cary (1888–1957)
Author of The Horse's Mouth
About the Author
Joyce Cary was born as Arthur Joyce Lunel Cary in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, in 1888. Cary studied art in Edinburgh and Paris and law at Oxford, before fighting in West Africa in World War I. He took up writing when injuries and bad health forced him into an early retirement. Cary wrote several show more novels, among them Mister Johnson, using his experiences in Africa as background. Cary has been acclaimed for his skill in creating well-developed plots and credible characterizations and for his unique sense of humor, and is best known for a trilogy that includes the novels Herself Surprised, To Be a Pilgrim, and The Horse's Mouth. Cary died in 1957. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: portrait by Eric Kennington
Series
Works by Joyce Cary
The art of fiction 2 copies
Marching soldier, 2 copies
Tre modi di peccare : romanzo 2 copies
Time Reading Program - The Horse's Mouth, The Decline of Pleasure, Disraeli, The Man of the Renaissance [4 Book… (1966) 2 copies
The Short Story and You: Englische Lektüre für das 5. Lernjahr, Oberstufe (Klett English Editions) (2009) 2 copies
Na milost in nemilost 1 copy
Government Baby 1 copy
Jeg blev aldrig klogere 1 copy
Så galt kan det gå 1 copy
The drunken sailor 1 copy
El curandero 1 copy
Associated Works
An American Album: One Hundred and Fifty Years of Harper's Magazine (2000) — Contributor — 133 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Cary, Arthur Joyce Lunel
- Birthdate
- 1888-12-07
- Date of death
- 1957-03-29
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- Ireland (birth)
UK - Birthplace
- Derry, Ireland
- Place of death
- Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK
- Places of residence
- Derry, Ireland (birth)
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Paris, France
Montenegro
Nigeria
Cary Castle, Ireland (show all 7)
Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK (death) - Education
- Clifton College
Oxford University (Trinity College) - Occupations
- Red Cross orderly ( [1912])
Colonial Officer (Nigeria)
novelist
artist - Relationships
- Cary, Tristram (son)
Kennedy, Margaret (cousin)
Members
Reviews
Lists
Backlisted (1)
Hidden Classics (1)
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 39
- Also by
- 11
- Members
- 2,874
- Popularity
- #8,915
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 49
- ISBNs
- 140
- Languages
- 5
- Favorited
- 11
Mister Johnson suffers from the "Big Man" syndrome. He imagines wealth and the good things in life are his due because he has a chief clerk's job in a District office of the Nigerian Colonial Service. He is inept; he steals, he borrows irresponsibly, he lies and is a farcical husband.
Meanwhile, the District Officer sees the opportunity of a road building project as a lasting memorial to his term of tenure at his otherwise tedious posting.
All transactions are corrupt in this dusty set-up. Accounts are falsified, money diverted, the roading project brings only overcrowding and no prosperity.
There is no resolution to the colonial divide, and it is Cary's genius that drives home the futility of colonial administration amid the chronically corrupt and mean culture of the native population. The final scenes are a devastating commentary on the whole sorry story.… (more)