Russell Hoban (1925–2011) was an American novelist and children’s writer. He is best known for Riddley Walker (1980) and The Mouse and His Child (1968). Riddley Walker won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award (1982) and the Australian Science Fiction Achievement Award (1983).
Russell Hoban was born in Lansdale, near Philadelphia, on 4 February 1925. His birth time was 2:50 am. His parents, Abram and Jennie Hoban, were Jewish migrants from Ostrog, Ukraine. Abram worked in ads and ran a drama guild. Jennie first worked as a seamstress. She later “raised two thousand pigeons on a one-acre truck patch”.
Russell took small parts in his father’s stage work. He won school prizes for stories and poems. In 2011, he said, “I was given plenty of books as a child.” He also said, “Never to cross a picket line.”
Hoban briefly went to Temple University. At 18, he joined the US Army. He served in the Philippines and Italy as a radio man in WWII. He won a Bronze Star. He joked, “The Germans saw me going by so many times.” In 1944, he married Lillian Aberman, an artist he met in Philadelphia. They also studied at the Philadelphia Museum School. They settled in Wilton, Connecticut, and had four children.
Hoban worked as an artist and ad writer. He taught drawing in New York. He painted magazine covers and drew book art. In 1959, he issued his first children’s book, What Does It Do and How Does It Work (1959). In 1960, he began the Frances series with Bedtime for Frances (1960). Lillian drew most of the later books. In 1968, he published The Mouse and His Child (1968). Hoban said he saw it as “my first novel”.
In 1969, Russell Hoban moved to London. He said, “London has a hold on me.” The move was meant to last two years. His marriage ended, and Lillian went back to the US. In 1970, he met Gundela Ahl in a London bookshop. He wrote, “I’d have bought whatever she showed me.” They married in 1975 and had three children.
His first adult novel was The Lion of Boaz-Jachin and Jachin-Boaz (1973). He then published Kleinzeit (1974) and Turtle Diary (1975). Riddley Walker (1980) became his main success. Later novels include Pilgermann (1983) and The Medusa Frequency (1987). From the late 1990s onward, he published novels frequently, such as Amaryllis Night and Day (2001) and Linger Awhile (2006). His last novel was Angelica Lost and Found (2010).
Russell Hoban died in London on 13 December 2011. Soonchild (2012) and Rosie’s Magic Horse (2012) came out after his death.
Photo credit: russellhoban.org
Russell Hoban was born in Lansdale, near Philadelphia, on 4 February 1925. His birth time was 2:50 am. His parents, Abram and Jennie Hoban, were Jewish migrants from Ostrog, Ukraine. Abram worked in ads and ran a drama guild. Jennie first worked as a seamstress. She later “raised two thousand pigeons on a one-acre truck patch”.
Russell took small parts in his father’s stage work. He won school prizes for stories and poems. In 2011, he said, “I was given plenty of books as a child.” He also said, “Never to cross a picket line.”
Hoban briefly went to Temple University. At 18, he joined the US Army. He served in the Philippines and Italy as a radio man in WWII. He won a Bronze Star. He joked, “The Germans saw me going by so many times.” In 1944, he married Lillian Aberman, an artist he met in Philadelphia. They also studied at the Philadelphia Museum School. They settled in Wilton, Connecticut, and had four children.
Hoban worked as an artist and ad writer. He taught drawing in New York. He painted magazine covers and drew book art. In 1959, he issued his first children’s book, What Does It Do and How Does It Work (1959). In 1960, he began the Frances series with Bedtime for Frances (1960). Lillian drew most of the later books. In 1968, he published The Mouse and His Child (1968). Hoban said he saw it as “my first novel”.
In 1969, Russell Hoban moved to London. He said, “London has a hold on me.” The move was meant to last two years. His marriage ended, and Lillian went back to the US. In 1970, he met Gundela Ahl in a London bookshop. He wrote, “I’d have bought whatever she showed me.” They married in 1975 and had three children.
His first adult novel was The Lion of Boaz-Jachin and Jachin-Boaz (1973). He then published Kleinzeit (1974) and Turtle Diary (1975). Riddley Walker (1980) became his main success. Later novels include Pilgermann (1983) and The Medusa Frequency (1987). From the late 1990s onward, he published novels frequently, such as Amaryllis Night and Day (2001) and Linger Awhile (2006). His last novel was Angelica Lost and Found (2010).
Russell Hoban died in London on 13 December 2011. Soonchild (2012) and Rosie’s Magic Horse (2012) came out after his death.
Photo credit: russellhoban.org
years of life: 4 February 1925 – 13 December 2011
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