The Modern Novel

Biography

There are only two reasonably well-known Guernsey writers but only one was born in Guernsey. The first is, of course, Victor Hugo who was fleeing from Louis-Napoléon. While in Guernsey, he wrote Les Misérables. The second is G. B. Edwards (Gerald Basil Edwards). (And, yes, I am aware of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Societyand The Book of Lies.) Edwards was born in 1899 in Sous les Hougues. He seems to have had poor relationships with both of his parents. He drifted around, first becoming a teacher, then joining the army towards the end of the First World War (he did not fight), going to university and finally ending up in London where he worked as a teacher and wrote plays. At this time he met Frieda Lawrence. He had an unhappy marriage and subsequently became a civil servant, a job he held till he retired in 1960. He drifted around after retirement but was unable to return to Guernsey because of the high cost of living. He finally ended up in Weymouth, the nearest place in England to Guernsey. It was here that he wrote his only book, the first of a projected trilogy, which was only published after his death from a heart attack in 1976.

Books about G. B. Edwards

Edward Chaney: Genius Friend: G. B. Edwards and The Book of Ebenezer Le Page

Other links

Gerald Basil Edwards