Eric Malpass

Eric Lawson Malpass (November 14, 1910—October 16, 1996) was an English novelist noted for his humorous and witty descriptions of rural family life, in particular that of his creation, the extended Pentecost family. However, Malpass also wrote historical fiction, ranging in scope from the late Middle Ages to Edwardian England.

Born in Derby and educated at King Henry VIII School, Coventry, Malpass, while writing in his spare time, worked in a bank before becoming, in 1947, an employee at the BBC. After his initial successes, especially with Morning's at Seven, he turned to writing full-time. Married with one son, two granddaughters and five great grandchildren, he lived in Long Eaton, Derbyshire until five years before his death when he moved to Bishop's Waltham in Hampshire.

Interestingly, Malpass acquired his most devoted readership on the Continent, particularly in Germany, where most of his books were translated.

Novels

Tales from the Pentecost Family:

• Morning's at Seven (London: Heinemann, 1965)
• At the Height of the Moon (London: Heinemann, 1967)
• Fortinbras Has Escaped (London: Pan Books, 1970)
• The Long Long Dances (London: Corgi, 1978)
• Summer Awakening (London: Corgi, 1978)
• Evensong (1982)
• Pig-in-the-Middle (1989)

Other humorous novels:

• Beefy Jones (London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1957)
• Oh My Darling Daughter (London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970)
• Familie Limmerick (1971)

The Shakespeare Trilogy:

• Part I: Sweet Will (London: Macmillan, 1973)
• Part II: The Cleopatra Boy (London: Macmillan, 1974)
• Part III: A House of Women (London: Macmillan, 1975)

Other novels with historical background:

• The Wind Brings Up the Rain (London: Heinemann, 1978)
• The Raising of Lazarus Pike (1980)
• The Lamplight and the Stars (London: Hamlyn, 1985)
• Of Human Frailty (a biographical novel of Thomas Cranmer) (London: Robert Hale, 1986)

All his novels were republished in 2001 by House of Stratus.

Short stories

• "The Return of the Moon Man"

Filmed versions

Malpass's books have never been filmed in his native England. Rather, it was mainly in Germany again where his success story continued on the big screen.

• Morgens um sieben ist die Welt noch in Ordnung (In the Morning at Seven the World Is Still in Order) (West Germany, 1968) — directed by Kurt Hoffmann, starring Archibald Eser (as seven year old Gaylord Pentecost), Gerlinde Locker, Werner Hinz, Agnes Windeck and Diana Körner; music by James Last; based on Morning's at Seven
• Wenn süß das Mondlicht auf den Hügeln schläft (When Sweet Moonlight Is Sleeping in the Hills) (West Germany, 1969) — a sequel to the 1968 movie; directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner, with more or less the same cast; based on At the Height of the Moon
• Als Mutter streikte (When Mother Went On Strike) (West Germany, 1974) — directed by Eberhard Schröder, starring Johanna Matz, Gila von Weitershausen, Gaby Dohm and Elisabeth Flickenschildt; based on Oh My Darling Daughter
• Mon ami Gaylord (France, 1979) — a six-part mini-series directed by Pierre Goutas, also based on Morning's at Seven.