Alexander, Lloyd
Dates
- Existence: 1924 - 2007
Biography
Lloyd Alexander (1924-2007) was a children's book author from Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania.
Lloyd Chudley Alexander was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 30, 1924. He spent his childhood in the nearby suburb of Drexel Hill and lived there most of his life. Alexander graduated from Upper Darby High School in 1940. His parents would not allow him to be a writer, so he worked for a local bank in Philadelphia. Once he had saved some money, he quit and went to a local college before quitting after one semester. He later served in the United States Army in World War II, which included spending time in Wales to train. The landscape, language, and castles would later become the setting of so many of his books. He served in the army for a time in Paris, before being discharged to attend the University of Paris. At the same time, he met Janine Denni, whom he married in 1946. Alexander moved back to Drexel Hill with Janine and her daughter Madeline.
Alexander worked as an advertisement writer, layout artist, cartoonist, and assistant editor while he tried to get his novels published. It took seven years before his first book was published. He spent the following ten years writing for adults before turning to young adult novels. He won the Newbery Honor Medal for "The Black Cauldron" and the Newbery Medal for "The High King." Series and books by Alexander include the "Prydain Chronicles," the "Westmark Trilogy," the "Vesper Holly Adventures," and over twenty other young adult novels, five adult novels, and four French translations. Alexander played the violin and was a devoted fan of Mozart. Alexander died May 17, 2007, in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, two weeks after Janine's passing.
Citation:
Wikipedia, via WWW, March 4, 2015 (Lloyd Alexander; spent his childhood in the nearby suburb of Drexel Hill and lived there most of his life; graduated from Upper Darby High School in 1940; worked for a local bank in Philadelphia; quit and went to a local college before quitting after one semester; served in the US Army in World War II, which included spending time in Wales to train; landscape, language, and castles made a great impression and would later become the setting of his books; served in the army for a time in Paris, before being discharged to attend the University of Paris; met Janine, whom he married in 1946; moved back to Drexel Hill with Janine and her daughter Madeline; worked as an advertisement writer, layout artist, cartoonist, and assistant editor while he tried to get his novels published; took seven years before his first book was published; spent the following ten years writing for adults before turning to young adult novels; won the Newbery Honor Medal for The Black Cauldron and the Newbery Medal for The High King; Series and books by Alexander include the Prydain Chronicles, the Westmark Trilogy, the Vesper Holly Adventures, and over twenty other young adult novels, five adult novels, and four French translations; was a devoted fan of Mozart; died May 17, 2007, two weeks after Janine's passing).found: His Sartre, J. P. The wall, c1948.
found: Washington post WWW site, May 18, 2007 (Lloyd Alexander; b. Lloyd Chudley Alexander, Jan. 30, 1924, Philadelphia; d. May 17, [2007] Drexel Hill, Pa., aged 83; critically acclaimed fantasy and adventure writer whose coming-of-age novels use vivid action and elements of mythology to depict contemporary struggles between good and evil)
found: Time cat, 1984:t.p. (Luyid Aliksandar = لويدالكساندر)
found: Info. converted from 678, 2012-10-27(b. 1924)
Found in 33 Collections and/or Records:
Lloyd Alexander collection on France and the Second World War, 1939-1946
Lloyd Alexander concert recordings and book programs, 1970-1990
Subseries includes materials related to book and writing programs and a violin concert. Most of the book conferences were at colleges and universities, and Lloyd Alexander would participate in some manner. The violin concert material comes from a concert featuring Lloyd Alexander playing the violin, and includes invitations, programs, photographs and recordings of the performance.
Lloyd Alexander correspondence, 1940-2007
Series contains a variety of correspondence received by Lloyd Alexander. This includes correspondence removed from accordion folders, personal and fan mail, letters concerning awards he received, and book manuscripts from other authors.
Lloyd Alexander correspondence, 1976-2007
Subseries consists of personal and publishers correspondence that the creator kept in large accordion files. This subseries includes only the correspondence that was in the files, as inserted by the creator, which includes personal, fan mail, and publishers' correspondence.
Lloyd Alexander cover art for Prydain series, 1964-1968
The subseries includes original cover artwork for the five Prydain books.
Lloyd Alexander facsimiles, 2010
The facsimiles were made for use in the Lloyd Alexander exhibit.
Lloyd Alexander furniture, undated
Subseries includes the furniture that was located in Lloyd Alexander's home office in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. This includes several different sizes of tables, chairs, bookcases, shelves, fans, lamps, and other small furniture.
Lloyd Alexander illustrations, 1973-2000
Lloyd Alexander interviews and speeches, 1978-1996
Series contains a number of speeches, articles and interviews conducted with and given by Lloyd Alexander. Most of the scripts are concerning different aspects of literature and books, and includes research materials and different drafts. Materials include typewritten documents, audio recordings in 7" magnetic tape reels and audio cassettes, and VHS video tapes.
Lloyd Alexander literary representations, undated
Includes a number of small figures and representations of characters that were given to Alexander from friends and fans. These include a pig banner, several donkeys, characters from the Prydain Chronicles, and other small tokens. There are also several souvenirs from countries used as settings for his books, including Africa and India.
Additional filters:
- Type
- Archival Object 30
- Collection 3
- Subject
- Archives 18
- Children's literature, American -- History and criticism 16
- Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences 15
- Literature 15
- Letters 9
- Photographs 5
- Fan mail 3
- Illustrations 3
- Programs 3
- Awards 2
- Children's literature 2
- Manuscripts 2
- Sculpture 2
- Sound recordings 2
- Advertising 1
- Art 1
- Artists' materials 1
- Audiocassettes 1
- Audiotapes 1
- Authors, American -- 20th century 1
- Authors, American -- Biography 1
- Bookmarks 1
- Books 1
- Calendars 1
- Children's literature -- Awards 1
- Children's literature -- Book reviews 1
- Colleges and Universities 1
- Correspondence 1
- Drafts (Documents) 1
- Drawings 1
- Drexel Hill (Pa.) 1
- Education 1
- Essays 1
- Facsimiles 1
- Furniture 1
- Greeting cards 1
- Hats 1
- Interviews 1
- Invitation cards 1
- Lectures 1
- Material Types 1
- Medals 1
- Microfilms 1
- Money 1
- Musical instruments 1
- Newspapers 1
- Office equipment and supplies 1
- Oil paintings 1
- Periodicals 1
- Pillows 1
- Planning 1
- Plaques, plaquettes 1
- Portraits 1
- Records 1
- Scripts (Documents) 1
- Slides (Photography) 1
- Souvenirs (Keepsakes) 1
- Speeches, addresses, etc., American 1
- Video recordings 1
- Videocassettes 1
- World War, 1939-1945 -- France 1 + ∧ less