Alexander, Lloyd 1924-2007 (Lloyd Chudley Alexander)

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born January 30, 1924, in Philadelphia, PA; died of cancer, May 17, 2007, in Drexel Hill, PA. Author. Alexander was a Newbery and National Book Award winner best known for his fantasy novel series "The Prydain Chronicles." Although he was a bookish boy who desired to be a writer at a young age, his stockbroker father insisted he pursue a more stable career. He therefore got a job as a bank messenger. His life was changed during the war, however, when he enlisted in the British Army in 1943 and was sent to Wales. Here he was deeply inspired by that ancient land, which reminded him of fairy tales and legends of enchantment. After World War II, the army sent him to France and he studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, and in 1947 he moved to the United States. While there, Alexander found various employment, including as a cartoonist, layout artist, advertising writer, and magazine editor. In his spare time, he wrote. His first book was And Let the Credit Go (1955), a novel for adults that drew heavily on his early experience in the banking world. Other works for adults followed, including My Five Tigers (1956) and Janine Is French (1959). By the late 1950s, he began writing for younger audiences, initially penning biographies but then publishing a fantasy for children called Time Cat: The Remarkable Journeys of Jason and Gareth (1963). The next year he released the first of his "Prydain Chronicles" books, The Book of Three (1964). Inspired by Welsh mythology, the fantasy novels addressed modern themes in a medieval setting. The other works in the series include The Black Cauldron (1965), which was a Newbery Honor Book, The Castle of Llyr (1966), Taran Wanderer (1967), and The High King (1968), which won a Newbery Medal and was a National Book Award nominee. Alexander also earned a National Book Award for the stand-alone novel The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian (1970) and for Westmark (1981). The latter title is the first of a trilogy about a printer's apprentice. Another popular series by Alexander features Vesper Holly, about a girl growing up in 1870s Philadelphia. Among the author's many other works are Coll and His White Pig (1965) and The Truthful Harp (1967), which are both set in the Prydain world, The Town Cats and Other Tales (1977), The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen (1991), Gypsy Rizka (1997), The Rope Trick (2002), The Xanadu Adventure (2005), and The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio, which was scheduled for posthumous publication.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

BOOKS

Alexander, Lloyd, My Love Affair with Music, Crowell (New York, NY), 1960.

PERIODICALS

Los Angeles Times, May 19, 2007, p. B12.

New York Times, May 19, 2007, p. A26.

Washington Post, May 18, 2007, p. B8.