Peter Farquhar

Peter Farquhar with his novel A Bitter Heart.

Peter Anthony Scott Farquhar (3 January 1946 - 26 October 2015) was a novelist and former teacher of English for 34 years at Manchester Grammar School and Stowe School. He later lectured at Buckingham University.

Early life

Manchester Grammar School

Peter Farquhar was born in Edinburgh on 3 January 1946, the son of a physician. He was educated at Latymer Upper School in London and then Churchill College, University of Cambridge, where he took a first class degree in English.[1]

Career

Stowe School

He was a teacher of English for 34 years at Manchester Grammar School (until 1982) and Stowe School (1983-2004). From 2007 he was an occasional lecturer at Buckingham University. He was described by his friend and former pupil at Manchester, Michael Crick, as having "an acute understanding of the problems of modern adolescent boys. For some, he became almost like a second father."[1]

His first novel, A Wide Wide Sea, was written in 1997 but not published until 2015 and is a coming-of-age story about three teenagers from Edinburgh who travel to France and Spain on a voyage of self-discovery. It was only published after two Buckingham University students, Ben Field and Martyn Smith, discovered the manuscript and persuaded Farquhar to publish it.[2] His novel, Between Boy and Man was published in 2010. The plot was heavily based on Farquhar's experience at Stowe School and concerns the struggle of a school chaplain to reconcile his Christian faith with his homosexuality.[1]

The character of Dr Farquar, played by Toby Stephens in the 2013 film Believe, directed by the former Manchester Grammar School pupil David Scheinmann, was partly based on Farquhar.[1]

Stowe Parish Church where Farquhar worshiped and preached.

Farquhar was an evangelical Christian who once considered becoming a minister. He worshiped and preached at Stowe Parish Church for 20 years.[1]

Death

Farquhar died in Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire, on 26 October 2015. His death was recorded as accidental as the result of acute alcohol intoxication.[3] He never married and was survived by his brother Ian.[1] In January 2018 three men were arrested by police investigating the possibility that Farquhar and his near neighbour Ann Moore-Martin may have been murdered.[4][5][6]

Selected publications

  • Between Boy and Man. AuthorHouse, 2010. ISBN 978-1452039312
  • A Bitter Heart. AuthorHouse, 2012. ISBN 978-1477223451
  • A Wide Wide Sea. Farquhar Studies, 2015. ISBN 978-1326343385

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Peter Farquhar obituary. Michael Crick, The Guardian, 29 November 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  2. ↑ Novel published after 18 years. Buckingham & Winslow Advertiser, 22 August 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  3. ↑ Scots academic at heart of murder and fraud investigation was originally thought to have died of alcohol poisoning. Stephen Naysmith, The Herald, 17 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  4. ↑ Murder inquiry: 'Church warden and magician' arrested. Sky News, 17 January 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  5. ↑ Poison suspected after retired teachers die in village of Maids Moreton. Katie Gibbons & Fiona Hamilton, The Times, 18 January 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2018. (subscription required)
  6. ↑ Maids Moreton deaths: Three arrests in murder investigation. BBC News, 16 January 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
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