Benjamin Black

Author profile

born

December 08, 1945 in Wexford, Ireland

gender

male

website

http://www.benjaminblackbooks.com/

genre

Mystery & Thrillers, Literature & Fiction

About this author

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Pen name for John Banville

Banville was born in Wexford, Ireland. His father worked in a garage and died when Banville was in his early thirties; his mother was a housewife. He is the youngest of three siblings; his older brother Vincent is also a novelist and has written under the name Vincent Lawrence as well as his own. His sister Vonnie Banville-Evans has written both a children's novel and a reminiscence of growing up in Wexford.

Educated at a Christian Brothers' school and at St Peter's College in Wexford. Despite having intended to be a painter and an architect he did not attend university. Banville has described this as "A great mistake. I should have gone. I regret not taking that four years of getting drunk and falling in love. But...more Pen name for John Banville

Banville was born in Wexford, Ireland. His father worked in a garage and died when Banville was in his early thirties; his mother was a housewife. He is the youngest of three siblings; his older brother Vincent is also a novelist and has written under the name Vincent Lawrence as well as his own. His sister Vonnie Banville-Evans has written both a children's novel and a reminiscence of growing up in Wexford.

Educated at a Christian Brothers' school and at St Peter's College in Wexford. Despite having intended to be a painter and an architect he did not attend university. Banville has described this as "A great mistake. I should have gone. I regret not taking that four years of getting drunk and falling in love. But I wanted to get away from my family. I wanted to be free." After school he worked as a clerk at Aer Lingus which allowed him to travel at deeply-discounted rates. He took advantage of this to travel in Greece and Italy. He lived in the United States during 1968 and 1969. On his return to Ireland he became a sub-editor at the Irish Press, rising eventually to the position of chief sub-editor. His first book, Long Lankin, was published in 1970.

After the Irish Press collapsed in 1995, he became a sub-editor at the Irish Times. He was appointed literary editor in 1998. The Irish Times, too, suffered severe financial problems, and Banville was offered the choice of taking a redundancy package or working as a features department sub-editor. He left. Banville has been a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books since 1990. In 1984, he was elected to Aosdána, but resigned in 2001, so that some other artist might be allowed to receive the cnuas.

Banville also writes under the pen name Benjamin Black. His first novel under this pen name was Christine Falls, which was followed by The Silver Swan in 2007. Banville has two adult sons with his wife, the American textile artist Janet Dunham. They met during his visit to San Francisco in 1968 where she was a student at the University of California, Berkeley. Dunham described him during the writing process as being like "a murderer who's just come back from a particularly bloody killing". Banville has two daughters from his relationship with Patricia Quinn, former head of the Arts Council of Ireland.

Banville has a strong interest in vivisection and animal rights, and is often featured in Irish media speaking out against vivisection in Irish university research.

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Average rating: 3.34 · 5,178 ratings · 1,144 reviews · 7 distinct works

	Christine Falls by Benjamin Black (Pseudonym), John Banville 3.36 avg rating — 2,848 ratings — published 2006 — 25 editions	My rating:
	The Silver Swan (Quirke, #2) by Benjamin Black, John Banville 3.34 avg rating — 986 ratings — published 2007 — 18 editions	My rating:
	Elegy for April (Quirke, #3) by Benjamin Black, John Banville 3.45 avg rating — 489 ratings — published 2010 — 13 editions	My rating:
	The Lemur by Benjamin Black, John Banville 2.90 avg rating — 447 ratings — published 2003 — 13 editions	My rating:
	A Death in Summer (Quirke, #4) 3.46 avg rating — 334 ratings — published 2011 — 11 editions	My rating:
	Vengeance: A Novel 3.44 avg rating — 9 ratings — expected publication 2012 — 4 editions	My rating:
	Prague Pictures: A Portrait of the City by John Banville, Benjamin Black 3.70 avg rating — 69 ratings — published 2003 — 4 editions	My rating:

More books by Benjamin Black…

Series by Benjamin Black

Quirke (5 books)
by Benjamin Black, John Banville

3.38 avg rating — 4,666 ratings

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Next Best Boo...: Mystery/Thriller Suggestions	31	205	Jan 25, 2010 06:13pm
The Seasonal Read...: Summer Challenge 2010 Completed Tasks (do NOT delete any posts in this thread)	3072	2868	Aug 31, 2010 10:39pm
Bookish: 16October10	7	25	Oct 16, 2010 05:58am
Glens Falls (NY) ...: What are U reading these days? (PART SIX) (2010)	1059	218	Dec 31, 2010 08:12pm
mystery lovers: BOOK List	3	27	Feb 17, 2011 05:54pm
The Seasonal Read...: Winter Challenge 2010-2011 Completed Tasks (do not delete any posts)	2596	666	Feb 28, 2011 09:05pm
The Mystery, Crim...: Mystery Lover	15	46	Mar 14, 2011 05:59pm
The Seasonal Read...: * Summer Challenge 2011 Completed Tasks (DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS)	2655	520	Aug 31, 2011 09:18pm
Historical Fictio...: Mini-Challenge #3 - September 2011 - REPORT POINTS HERE	267	133	Oct 01, 2011 03:06pm
By The Book: Genre Of The Month For October 2011	30	15	Oct 23, 2011 04:39pm

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Benjamin Black

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combine editions
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