Edward St Aubyn

Edward St Aubyn (born 14 January 1960) is an English author and journalist. He is the author of eight novels, including notably the semi-autobiographical Patrick Melrose novels. In 2006, Mother's Milk was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

Edward St Aubyn
Born (1960-01-14) 14 January 1960
London, England
OccupationAuthor, journalist
ResidenceLondon, England
EducationWestminster School
Alma materKeble College, Oxford
Spouse
Nicola Shulman
(m. 1987; div. 1990)

Personal background and education

Edward St Aubyn was born in 1960 in London, England, into an upper-class family. He is the son of Roger Geoffrey St Aubyn (1906–1985), a former soldier and a surgeon, and his second wife, Lorna Mackintosh (1929–2005). On his paternal side, he is great-great grandson of Sir Edward St Aubyn, 1st Baronet, and great-nephew of The 1st Baron St Levan. On his maternal side, he is grandson of Captain Alastair William Mackintosh of the Seaforth Highlanders (briefly married to Constance Talmadge 1926–1927),[1] and Lela Emery (later Duchess of Talleyrand). Through the latter he is great-grandson of American businessman John Josiah Emery, Sr., and great-nephew of John J. Emery, Jr. and Audrey Emery (wife of Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia).[2][3]

His father was first married to Sophie Helene Freifrau von Puthon of Schloss Mirabell in Salzburg, whom he divorced in 1957. St Aubyn has two half-sisters by his father's first marriage, and an elder sister, Alexandra.[3] He grew up in London and France, where his family had houses.[4] He has described an unhappy childhood in which he was repeatedly raped by his sexually abusive father from the ages of 5 to 8, with the complicity of his mother.[4][5]

St Aubyn attended Westminster School and in 1979 went on to read English at Keble College, Oxford. Although at the time a heroin addict, he graduated with a pass, the lowest possible class of degree.[4][6] He entered psychotherapy at the age of 25 and subsequently became a professional writer.

From 1987 to 1990, he was married to the author Nicola Shulman, now The Marchioness of Normanby.[3] St Aubyn has two children, and lives in London.

Patrick Melrose series
"Patrick Melrose" and "Bad News (Patrick Melrose)" redirect here. For the TV adaptation, see Patrick Melrose (TV series).

Five of St Aubyn's novels, Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, Mother's Milk, and At Last, form The Patrick Melrose Novels, the first four of which were republished in a single volume in 2012, in anticipation of the fifth. They are based on the author's own life, growing up in a highly dysfunctional upper-class English family, dealing with abuse at the hands of his father, the deaths of both parents, alcoholism, heroin addiction and recovery, and marriage and parenthood.[7]

The books have been hailed as a powerful exploration of how emotional health can be carved out of childhood adversity.[8]

Mother's Milk was made into a feature film released in 2011. The screenplay was written by St Aubyn and director Gerald Fox. It stars Jack Davenport, Adrian Dunbar, Diana Quick, and Margaret Tyzack in her last performance.

In 2018 a five-part television series, Patrick Melrose was broadcast, a joint production of Showtime and Sky Atlantic. Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Patrick Melrose (with the young Patrick played by Sebastian Maltz), with each episode based on a different novel in the series. The series premiered on Showtime on 12 May 2018 to favourable reviews.[9]

Awards and honours

Works
  • Never Mind. Picador USA. 1992. ISBN 9781447202936.
  • Bad News. Picador USA. 1992. ISBN 9781447202950.
  • Some Hope. Heinemann. 1994.
  • On The Edge. Chatto & Windus. 1998. ISBN 978-1447253563.
  • A Clue to the Exit. Chatto & Windus. 2000. ISBN 0701169605.
  • Some Hope: A Trilogy. Grove Press, Open City Books. 2003. ISBN 1890447366.
  • Mother's Milk. Grove Press, Open City Books. 2005. ISBN 978-1890447403.
  • At Last. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2012. ISBN 978-0374298890.
  • Lost for Words. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2014. ISBN 9780374280291.
  • Dunbar. Hogarth Press. 2017. ISBN 9781101904282.

References
  1. "Film Actress's Divorce Suit". The Times. London, England: The Times Digital Archive. 29 September 1927. p. 9.
  2. "Former Husband of Film Actress to Wed". The Warren Tribune. Warren, Ohio: Ogden Newspapers Inc. 7 September 1928. p. 9.
  3. Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). London, England: Burke's Peerage & Gentry. p. 3496. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
  4. Brown, Mick (2 May 2014). "How writing helped Edward St Aubyn exorcise his demons". The Daily Telegraph. London, England. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  5. Moss, Stephen (17 August 2011). "Edward St Aubyn: 'Writing is horrible'". The Guardian. London, England. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  6. Parker, Ian (26 May 2014). "The Real Life of Edward St. Aubyn". ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  7. Kakutani, Michiko (21 February 2012). "Laying to Rest Familial Horrors: Edward St. Aubyn's 'At Last,' an Autobiographical Novel". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  8. James, O.W. (2013). How to Achieve Emotional Health. London, England: Vermilion.
  9. Villarreal, Yvonne (12 May 2018). "Benedict Cumberbatch takes on a dream role in Showtime's 'Patrick Melrose' — thanks to Reddit". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California: Tronc. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  10. Lea, Richard. "Edward St Aubyn wins Wodehouse prize with a satire of literary awards". The Guardian. 19 May 2014.

Further reading
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