The Magic of Terry Pratchett

Marc Burrows

• Publisher: White Owl
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781526765512
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literary Biographies
• Index: Literature

An in-depth look into the life and writings of the bestselling author of the Discworld novels, Good Omens, and Nation. The Magic of Terry Pratchett is the first full biography of Sir Terry Pratchett ever written. Sir Terry was Britain's bestselling living author*, and before his death in 2015 had sold more than 85 million copies of his books worldwide. Best known for the Discworld series, his work has been translated into thirty-seven languages, and performed as plays on every continent in the world, including Antarctica. Journalist, comedian and Pratchett fan Marc Burrows delves into the back story of one of UK's most enduring and beloved authors, from his childhood in the Chiltern Hills, to his time as a journalist, and the journey that would take him—via more than sixty best-selling books—to an OBE, a knighthood and national treasure status. The Magic Of Terry Pratchett is the result of painstaking archival research alongside interviews with friends and contemporaries who knew the real man under the famous black hat, helping to piece together the full story of one of British literature's most remarkable and beloved figures for the very first time. * Now disqualified on both counts. Praise for The Magic of Terry Pratchett "In this encompassing biography of the prolific fantasy and science-fiction author, writer and comedian Burrows details both the writing accomplishments and the personal life of Sir Terry Pratchett.... Burrows spoke to friends and family, and this biography has moments of sadness, especially when discussing Pratchett's fight with Alzheimer's. But the book is also funny and conversational in tone, and an excellent tribute to a beloved author." — Booklist "Affable and consistently engaging... Burrow's buoyant, pun-peppered, and aptly footnote-flecked style... helpfully marries his subject matter, propelling us through decade after decade of a heavily writing-centric life while illuminating Pratchett's complexities and contradictions without any drag in the tempo." — Locus Magazine "An impressively comprehensive, engagingly written biography.****"— SFX

Table of contents

• Cover
• Dedication
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 Once Upon A Time
• Chapter 2 The Young Writer
• Chapter 3 The Journalist’s Apprentice
• Chapter 4 The Carpet People and Other Stories
• Chapter 5 There and Back Again
• Chapter 6 Dark Sides and Disc Worlds
• Chapter 7 The Colour of Magic
• Chapter 8 Tripping The Light Fantastic
• Chapter 9 Going Overground
• Chapter 10 When Shall We Three Meet Again?
• Chapter 11 The Children’s Writer
• Chapter 12 The Satanic Verses: The Making of A Cult Classic
• Chapter 13 We Need To Talk About Kevins
• Chapter 14 The Nineties and Discworld Mania
• Chapter 15 A Little Respect
• Chapter 16 Rats, Cats, Chalk and Cheese
• Chapter 17 The Embuggerance
• Chapter 18 The Knight’s Tale
• Chapter 19 Ever After
• Epilogue: Cigarettes
• Bibliography
• Plate section