Derek Robinson (novelist)

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Derek Robinson
Born (1932-04-12) 12 April 1932 (age 90)
Bristol
Pen nameDirk Robson
Occupationscreenwriter, author, Rugby Union referee, broadcaster
Nationality British
Citizenship British
EducationUniversity
Alma mater Downing College, University of Cambridge
Period1971–present
Genrefiction
Notable works Goshawk Squadron , Piece of Cake , The Eldorado Network , A Darker History of Bristol
A Load of Old Bristle: Krek Waiter's Peak Bristle, Run with the Ball
Website
www.derekrobinson.info

Derek Robinson (born 12 April 1932) is a British author best known for his military aviation novels full of black humour. He has also written several books on some of the more sordid events in the history of Bristol, his home town, as well as guides to rugby. He was nominated for the Booker Prize in 1971 for his first novel, Goshawk Squadron. [1]

Contents

After attending Cotham Grammar School, [2] Robinson served in the Royal Air Force as a fighter plotter, during his National Service. He has a history degree from Cambridge University, where he attended Downing College, [3] has and worked in advertising in the UK and the US and as a broadcaster on radio and television. He was a qualified rugby referee for more than thirty years and is a life member of Bristol Society of Rugby Referees. [4] He was married in 1964. [5]

Following his research of historical records for his novel Piece of Cake (1983), Robinson became convinced that it was the supremacy of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom's coastal waters that caused Adolf Hitler to postpone invasion plans and not the Battle of Britain, as commonly accepted. [6]

Works

Aviation novels

Novels set in squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps (later the Royal Air Force) during the First World War:

Novel set in the inter-war era:

Novels set in RAF squadrons during the Second World War:

Novel set in the Cold War:

All eight of Robinson's aviation novels were released in paperback editions by MacLehose Press in 2012–2013.

Luis Cabrillo novels

Novels featuring Luis Cabrillo:

Other books

Notes

  1. "Prize archive: 1971". www.themanbookerprize.com. Archived from the original on 2 July 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
  2. "Derek Robinson". IMDb. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  3. "Downing Record 2002" (PDF). Downing College, University of Cambridge. 2002. p. 24. Archived from the original (pdf) on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2009.
  4. "Bristol Referees". Gloucestershire Rugby Football Union. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2009.
  5. "Downing Record 2002" (PDF). Downing College, University of Cambridge. 2002. p. 36. Archived from the original (pdf) on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2009.
  6. "Broadcasting House 8 September 2013". BBC. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  7. "Observer review: Red Rag Blues, by Derek Robinson". The Guardian. UK. 30 July 2006. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
  8. "Kentucky Blues: A Novel". Good Reads. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  9. Redfern, Simon (20 January 2008). "Better Rugby Refereeing, by Ed Morrison and Derek Robinson – Reviews, Books – The Independent". The Independent. UK. Retrieved 11 January 2009.

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