Gordon Snell

Last updated

Gordon Snell
Born1932 [1]
Singapore
LanguageEnglish
NationalityBritish
Alma materOxford
Notable worksDangerous Treasure (1994),
The Mystery of Monk Island (1995),
The Curse of Werewolf Castle (1996),
The Phantom Horseman (1997),
The Case of the Mystery Graves (1998),
The Secret of the Circus (2000),
The Library Ghost (2000),
Fear at the Festival (2001) [2]
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1977;died 2012)​

Gordon Snell is a British author of children's literature [3] and scriptwriter. [4] He was married to Irish author Maeve Binchy from 1977 until her death in 2012. [5] He lives in the home that he shared with his late wife in Dalkey, outside of Dublin, Ireland. [6]

Contents

Early life

Snell was born in Singapore in 1932. [7] He was an only child, and lived with his mother and father in Singapore during the British colonization period. [7] He went with his mother to Australia looking for a boarding school for him. They remained in Australia when Singapore was invaded by the Japanese in February 1942. [8] He attended the Geelong College in Victoria, leaving in 1946. [9] He was separated from his father for three years, who was taken prisoner during the Japanese occupation of Singapore of World War II. After the war, the family moved to the UK. [10] He finished Secondary school in Wiltshire. [10] At Dauntsey's School he collaborated in school plays with Adrian Mitchell. [11] He attended Oxford, where he was a friend and classmate of Bernard Donoughue. [12]

Maeve Binchy

Snell met Maeve Binchy at the BBC where he was a freelance producer. He took his future wife on a hovercraft trip to Boulogne. But, they spent all their time there talking to each other, and never saw Boulogne. [8] He and Maeve married in 1977. Working freelance, they did not have to live near publishers in London, and ultimately moved to her hometown, Dalkey (just outside Dublin). [13] For Gordon's 65th birthday, Maeve gave him a surprise gift of a rose variety named after him. [14] In 2011, the couple appeared together on the Irish television soap opera, Fair City . [15] He was by her hospital bedside when she died the following year. [5] At Maeve's death, her estate was valued at ten million euros, of which two thirds went to Gordon. [16]

Writing

His books include Amy's Wonderful Nest, Tina and the Tooth Fairy and The Supermarket Ghost. [17] His other books include The Phantom Horseman, Dangerous Treasure, The Mystery of Monk Island, The Curse of Werewolf Castle and The Tex and Sheelagh Omnibus. [18] He has commissioned and edited the collection Thicker Than Water on growing up, contributed to by Irish and Irish-American writers. [19]

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References

  1. ↑ Gordon Snell Brendan O'Connor Podcasts, Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) March 26, 2022
  2. ↑ "Books by Gordon Snell". Good Reads.
  3. ↑ Lynch, Donal (5 August 2012). "Donal Lynch: Maeve stirred up love with a long spoon . . . (She was held in great affection, but even in Ireland the compliments could be backhanded)". Sunday Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  4. ↑ "Gordon Snell". Dalkey Book Festival.
  5. 1 2 McGarry, Patsy (31 July 2012). "Maeve Binchy, best-loved writer of her generation, dies aged 72". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  6. ↑ Neligan, Orla - Maeve and me: Gordon Snell opens the Binchy family album. Irish Independent, April 6, 2019
  7. 1 2 Shennan, Margaret. Out in the Midday Sun: The British in Malaya 1880-1960. Singapore: Monsoon Books Pte. Limited, 2015.
  8. 1 2 Bol, Rosita (27 May 2017). "Gordon Snell on Maeve Binchy: 'Her presence is still here'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  9. ↑ Gordon Thomas Frederick Snell 1932 - Heritage Guide to The Geelong College. viewed April 21, 2022. Original source, The Geelong College Pegasus Magazine June 1957 p51; The Geelong College Ad Astra magazine 1959.
  10. 1 2 'We wrote for different audiences, it made for a harmonious home'. Irish Independent, September 30, 2018
  11. ↑ Mitchell, Adrian. Just Adrian. United Kingdom: Oberon Books, 2012.
  12. ↑ Donoughue, Bernard. Westminster Diary: A Reluctant Minister Under Tony Blair. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016.
  13. ↑ Murphy, Patsy (1 August 2012). "The inspirational partnership of Maeve and Gordon". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  14. ↑ GORDON SNELL (Dicwriter). Dickson Roses, Viewed April 21, 2022
  15. ↑ "Maeve Binchy visits Fair City tonight". RTÉ. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  16. ↑ McGarry, Patsy - Author Maeve Binchy estate valued at €10 million The Irish Times, March 23, 2014
  17. ↑ "Gordon Snell". The O'Brien Press, Dublin, Ireland.
  18. ↑ "Author of The Phantom Horseman, Dangerous Treasure, The Mystery of Monk Island, The Curse of Werewolf Castle and The Tex and Sheelagh Omnibus". Poolbeg. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013.
  19. ↑ "Thicker Than Water edited by Gordon Snell". RTÉ. 11 October 2001.
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