Writer's Luck: A Memoir: 1976-1991

Luck, good or bad, plays an important part in the careers of writers. In this book David Lodge explores how his work was inspired and affected by unpredictable events in his life.

In 1976, when this book begins, Lodge was pursuing a ‘twin-track career’ as novelist and academic, soon to become Professor of Modern English Literature at Birmingham University. It was a combination of roles that brought him many opportunities to travel around the world. As a literary critic, Lodge made serious contributions to the subject, before carnivalising it in his comic-satiric novel Small World. The balancing act between his two professions was however increasingly difficult to maintain, and he became a full-time writer just before he published his bestselling novel Nice Work and adapted it successfully it for television. Both novels were shortlisted for the Booker Prize, in which he was later involved as Chairman of the judges

Readers of Lodge’s novels will be fascinated by the insights this book gives – not only into his professional career but also more personal experience, such as his growing scepticism about his Catholic religion, and the challenges of parenting three children with diverse needs and personalities. The main focus of this memoir, however, is on writing as a vocation. Anyone who is interested in learning about the creative process, about the dual nature of the novel as both work of art and commodity and the different possibilities and constraints a novelist encounters when writing for the theatre or adapting his work for television, will find Writer’s Luck a candid, informative and entertaining guide.