Phil Rickman

Last updated

Phil Rickman (also known under the pen names of Thom Madley and Will Kingdom) is a British author of supernatural and mystery novels. [1]

Contents

Biography

Rickman was born in Lancashire in the north of England and worked as a journalist for BBC World Service TV and BBC Radio 4. He published his first book, Candlenight, in 1991, and began his Merrily Watkins series in 1998. [2] In 2010, he began the John Dee Papers series, which focuses on the Welsh mathematician and astrologer, John Dee. [3]

Rickman has also worked on several music albums based upon his books and has helped write many of the albums' songs. [4] He has lived in Wales most of his life and now resides (as of 2020) with his wife in Hay-on-Wye. [5]

Rickman researches the folklore, religion, and supernatural themes of his books, saying "If I can't believe it, it doesn't go in". [2] He has also voiced his unhappiness over his earlier critics which labeled him a horror writer. He says that he felt that the books did not fit neatly within that genre. [2]

Bibliography

Standalone novels

John Dee Papers

  1. The Bones of Avalon (2010) [7] [8]
  2. The Heresy of Dr Dee (2012)

Marco series

  1. Marco's Pendulum (2006, as Thom Madley)
  2. Marco and the Blade of Night (2007, as Thom Madley)

Merrily Watkins series

  1. The Wine of Angels (1998)
  2. Midwinter of the Spirit (1999)
  3. A Crown of Lights (2001)
  4. The Cure of Souls (2001)
  5. The Lamp of the Wicked (2002)
  6. The Prayer of the Night Shepherd (2004)
  7. The Smile of a Ghost (2005)
  8. The Remains of an Altar (2006) [9]
  9. The Fabric of Sin (2007)
  10. To Dream of the Dead (2008)
  11. The Secrets of Pain (2011)
  12. The Magus of Hay (2013)
  13. Friends of the Dusk (2015)
  14. All of a Winter's Night (2017) [10]
  15. The Fever of the World (2022) [11] [ full citation needed ]

Short stories

  1. The House of Susan Lulham - was first published in the Oxfam "Oxcrimes" anthology (May 2014). [12] [13] In December 2014, an extended version which is "five times as long" was published for Kindle. [14]

Non-fiction

  • Merrily's Border: The Places in Herefordshire & the Marches Behind the Merrily Watkins Novels (with photographer John Mason) (2009)

Discography

Television

The second Merrily book Midwinter of the Spirit (which is the first "Exorcism" story) [16] has been made into a three-part TV drama by ITV. The Cast includes Anna Maxwell-Martin as Merrily, Sally Messham as Jane, and David Threlfall as Huw Owen. [17] [18] It was released in late 2015.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robertson Davies</span> Canadian novelist

William Robertson Davies was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best known and most popular authors and one of its most distinguished "men of letters", a term Davies gladly accepted for himself. Davies was the founding Master of Massey College, a graduate residential college associated with the University of Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Rickman</span> English actor (1946–2016)

Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman was an English actor and director. Known for his distinctive deep, languid voice, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London and became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), performing in modern and classical theatre productions. He played the Vicomte de Valmont in the RSC stage production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses in 1985, and after the production transferred to the West End in 1986 and Broadway in 1987, he was nominated for a Tony Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Swanwick</span> American science fiction author (born 1950)

Michael Swanwick is an American fantasy and science fiction author who began publishing in the early 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herne the Hunter</span> Ghost from English folklore

In English folklore, Herne the Hunter is a ghost associated with Windsor Forest and Great Park in the English county of Berkshire. He is said to have antlers growing from his head, ride a horse, torment cattle, and rattle chains. The earliest mention of Herne comes from William Shakespeare's 1597 play The Merry Wives of Windsor, and it is impossible to know how accurately or to what degree Shakespeare may have incorporated a real local legend into his work, though there have been several later attempts to connect Herne to historical figures, pagan deities, or ancient archetypes.

<i>Bastard Out of Carolina</i> (film) 1996 film by Anjelica Huston

Bastard Out of Carolina is a 1996 American drama film made by Showtime Networks, directed by Anjelica Huston. It is based on the 1992 novel by Dorothy Allison and adapted for the screen by Anne Meredith. Jena Malone stars in her debut as a poor, physically abused and sexually molested girl.

Vincent Montana Jr., known as Vince Montana, was an American composer, arranger, vibraphonist, and percussionist. He is best known as a member of MFSB and as the founder of the Salsoul Orchestra. He has been called "the Godfather of disco". Montana was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T. A. Barron</span> American writer (born 1952)

Thomas Archibald Barron is an American writer of fantasy literature, books for children and young adults, and nature books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exorcism</span> Evicting spiritual entities from a person or area

Exorcism is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be done by causing the entity to swear an oath, performing an elaborate ritual, or simply by commanding it to depart in the name of a higher power. The practice is ancient and part of the belief system of many cultures and religions.

<i>Muscle Beach Party</i> 1964 film by William Asher

Muscle Beach Party is the second of seven beach party films produced by American International Pictures. It stars Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello and was directed by William Asher, who also directed four other films in this series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandi Thom</span> A Scottish musician

Alexandria "Sandi" Thom is a Scottish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Banff, Scotland. She became widely known in 2006 after her debut single, "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker ", topped the UK Singles Chart in June of that year, as well as in Australia and Ireland. The single became the biggest-selling single of 2006 in Australia, where it spent ten weeks at the top of the ARIA Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Dee</span> English scientist and occultist (1527–1608/09)

John Dee was an English mathematician, astronomer, teacher, astrologer, occultist, and alchemist. He was the court astronomer for, and advisor to, Elizabeth I, and spent much of his time on alchemy, divination, and Hermetic philosophy. As an antiquarian, he had one of the largest libraries in England at the time. As a political advisor, he advocated the foundation of English colonies in the New World to form a "British Empire", a term he is credited with coining.

Janie Dee is a British actress. She won the Olivier Award for Best Actress, Evening Standard Award and Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Play, and in New York the Obie and Theatre World Award for Best Newcomer, for her performance as Jacie Triplethree in Alan Ayckbourn's Comic Potential.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic Books</span> British publishing house

Atlantic Books is an independent British publishing house, with its headquarters in Ormond House in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. It is perhaps best known for publishing Aravind Adiga's debut novel The White Tiger, which received the 40th Man Booker Prize in 2008, and for its long-standing relationship with the late Christopher Hitchens.

<i>The Exorcist III</i> 1990 film by William Peter Blatty

The Exorcist III is a 1990 American supernatural horror film written for the screen and directed by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1983 novel Legion. It is the third installment in The Exorcist film series, and the final installment in Blatty's "Trilogy of Faith" after The Ninth Configuration (1980). The film stars George C. Scott, Ed Flanders, Jason Miller, Scott Wilson, Nicol Williamson, and Brad Dourif.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whiteleaved Oak</span> Human settlement in England

Whiteleaved Oak is a hamlet in the English county of Herefordshire, lying in a valley at the southern end of the Malvern Hills between Raggedstone Hill and Chase End Hill where the counties of Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire meet. It was home to a 500-year-old oak tree, which was thought to be sacred. On 9 July 2020, the tree was destroyed by a fire which broke out due to lanterns being hung on its branches.

<i>Christmas Spirit</i> (Richard Marx album) 2012 studio album by Richard Marx

Christmas Spirit is a Christmas seasonal release album by Richard Marx, released in October 2012. Five tracks on the album previously appeared on his 2011 release, The Christmas EP. Christmas Spirit reached No. 181 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and No. 21 on the Billboard Top Christmas Albums chart.

<i>The Bones of Avalon</i> 2010 novel by Phil Rickman

The Bones of Avalon is a novel in first-person narrative mode by Phil Rickman. It is about John Dee, who investigates undercover on Her Majesty's Service. It was followed by The Heresy of Dr Dee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Langsuyar</span>

The langsuyar, also lang suir or langsuir, is a female revenant in Malay and other mythologies in the Malay Archipelago. The word is derived from the Malay word for eagle.

<i>Midwinter of the Spirit</i> British TV series or programme

Midwinter Of The Spirit is a British horror drama television series that was broadcast as three episodes from 23 September 2015 to 7 October 2015, and stars Anna Maxwell Martin, David Threlfall, and Sally Messham.

<i>Utopia Avenue</i>

Utopia Avenue is a 2020 novel by David Mitchell. It is his eighth published novel, and his first since Slade House (2015). It was published by Sceptre on 14 July 2020. The novel tells the story of the fictional 1960s British psychedelic rock band Utopia Avenue.

References

  1. ↑ "Veterans of genre thrill and chill". Chronicle Herald. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "Exorcising crime with Merrily Watkins". CounterCulture. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  3. ↑ Kerridge, Jake (18 December 2012). "A page in the life: Phil Rickman". Telegraph. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  4. ↑ "Rickman creation comes to life on CD". Hereford Times. 25 June 2009. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  5. ↑ "personal" . Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  6. ↑ "Review: Curfew". Publishers Weekly. July 1993. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  7. ↑ Lytle, Betty. "Book review: Phil Rickman's "The Bones of Avalon"". News OK. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  8. ↑ May, Philippa (5 April 2010). "Philippa May reviews 'The Bones of Avalon' by Phil Rickman". Hereford Times. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  9. ↑ Yager, Susanna (5 November 2006). "Firmly grounded in reality". Telegraph. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  10. ↑ "Home1 | PHIL RICKMAN".
  11. ↑ "Phil Rickman".
  12. ↑ "Other stuff | PHIL RICKMAN".
  13. ↑ "OxCrimes | Oxfam GB | Shop". www.oxfam.org.uk. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015.
  14. ↑ https://www.amazon.co.uk/House-Susan-Lulham-Kindle-Single-ebook/dp/B00R34ZFAG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418848546&sr=1-1&keywords=The+House+of+Susan+Lulham [ dead link ]
  15. ↑ "Crime novels inspire album". Kirkintilloch Herald. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  16. ↑ "A letter from Ledwardine | PHIL RICKMAN".
  17. ↑ "Press Releases".
  18. ↑ "Midwinter of the Spirit (TV Mini Series 2015) - IMDb". IMDb .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.