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Sydney Higgins

Goodreads Author

Born

in St. Ives, Cornwall, The United Kingdom

Genre

Nonfiction, Children's, Biography

Member Since

April 2013

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What's in a name?
Sydney Higgins has been a successful writer and educationalist for many years. When Cassell published his early books, the managing director insisted his name should be modified to 'D.S. Higgins' because, he said, 'Sydney Higgins' sounded common. The first book to be published under that name 'Sydney Higgins' was 'The Benn Inheritance - The Story of a Radical Family'. After that, his writing name became unimportant because when he was appointed as Senior Inspector of English Language and Drama, he was not permitted to publish anything under his own name - whether it was 'D.S.', 'Sydney' or 'Syd'. So he became a ghost, writing books including 'Stroll On' for Tony Booth, 'Piper Alpha - A Survivor's Story' for Ed Punchard, 'Th What's in a name?
Sydney Higgins has been a successful writer and educationalist for many years. When Cassell published his early books, the managing director insisted his name should be modified to 'D.S. Higgins' because, he said, 'Sydney Higgins' sounded common. The first book to be published under that name 'Sydney Higgins' was 'The Benn Inheritance - The Story of a Radical Family'. After that, his writing name became unimportant because when he was appointed as Senior Inspector of English Language and Drama, he was not permitted to publish anything under his own name - whether it was 'D.S.', 'Sydney' or 'Syd'. So he became a ghost, writing books including 'Stroll On' for Tony Booth, 'Piper Alpha - A Survivor's Story' for Ed Punchard, 'The Pirelli Book of Motor Racing Heroes' for John Surtees and 'Nicola: A Second Chance to Live' for Nicola Owen.
In the early 1990s, when Margaret Thatcher and her Conservative Government seemed to believe that drama in education was a left-wing plot, he was fortunate enough to be given early retirement and fled with his wife to Italy. There he became a Professor of English, spending much time studying medieval drama and writing sure-fire non-sellers on subjects including 'The Staging of Cornish Medieval Drama'. He also founded and still directs his own theatrical company that specialises in musicals, including several for which he has written the book and the lyrics. He and his wife love travelling and together have written a two-part guidebook, 'Staying in the Châteaux Hotels of France'.
Some time ago, he was made the 'Citizen of the Year' in the Italian town where he lives and works. The citation reads: 'Professor Higgins is recognised for having brought the town to the attention of the world by his organisation of the annual International Conference and Festival of Medieval European Drama.' It is an honour and a title that he cherishes, but, as he has said, 'If you're born with the name "Higgins", you really have to become a professor even if it's only so when a certain kind of person, having once seen 'My Fair Lady' and hearing my name's 'Higgins', is wont to ask gleefully, 'You must be Professor Higgins!', I can reply, 'Yes, I am!' ...more

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Sydney Higgins’s books

Average rating: 4.26 · 66 ratings · 12 reviews · 23 distinct works

	Rider Haggard: The Great Storyteller 4.10 avg rating — 21 ratings — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Theatre in the Round: The Staging of Cornish Medieval Drama 3.90 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 2013 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sweet Sorrel: Suffolk Voices from the Past 4.22 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2013 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Vampires, Werewolves, Ghosts & UFOs: - for young teenagers with reading difficulties it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2013 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	FUN READ 1 - for young teenagers with severe reading difficulties including dyslexia by Sydney Higgins (Goodreads Author), Anna Higgins it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2012 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Rider Haggard's Secret Love and Two Other Haggard Articles by Sydney Higgins (Goodreads Author), D.S. Higgins (Writing as) 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2011	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Benn Inheritance: The Story of A Radical Family it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fun Read 2: for young teenagers with reading difficulties including dyslexia it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2013 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cuba: Voices from the Past by Sydney Higgins (Goodreads Author), Anna Higgins it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	European Medieval Drama 1 (1997) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Sydney’s Quotes

“Historians are like deaf people who go on answering questions that no one has asked them.”
― Leo Tolstoy

tags: historians

157 likes

“Write for yourself, not for a perceived audience. If you do, you'll mostly fall flat on your face, because it's impossible to judge what people want. And you have to read. That's how you learn what is good writing and what is bad. Then the main thing is application. It's hard work.”
― Wilbur Smith

6 likes