more photos (1)

Louis de Bernières’s Followers (1,926)

Louis de Bernières

Born

in London, England

December 08, 1954

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Children's Books

edit data

Novelist Louis de Bernières was born in London in 1954. He joined the army at 18 but left after spending four months at Sandhurst. After graduating from the Victoria University of Manchester, he took a postgraduate certificate in Education at Leicester Polytechnic and obtained his MA at the University of London.

Before writing full-time, he held many varied jobs including landscape gardener, motorcycle messenger and car mechanic. He also taught English in Colombia, an experience which determined the style and setting of his first three novels, The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts (1990), Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord (1991) and The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman (1992), each of which was heavily influenced by South American liter Novelist Louis de Bernières was born in London in 1954. He joined the army at 18 but left after spending four months at Sandhurst. After graduating from the Victoria University of Manchester, he took a postgraduate certificate in Education at Leicester Polytechnic and obtained his MA at the University of London.

Before writing full-time, he held many varied jobs including landscape gardener, motorcycle messenger and car mechanic. He also taught English in Colombia, an experience which determined the style and setting of his first three novels, The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts (1990), Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord (1991) and The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman (1992), each of which was heavily influenced by South American literature, particularly 'magic realism'.

In 1993, he was selected as one of the 20 'Best of Young British Novelists 2' promotion in Granta magazine. His fourth novel, Corelli's Mandolin, was published in the following year, winning the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Best Book). It was also shortlisted for the Sunday Express Book of the Year. Set on the Greek island of Cephalonia during the Second World War, the novel tells the story of a love affair between the daughter of a local doctor and an Italian soldier. It has become a worldwide bestseller and has now been translated into over 30 languages. A film adaptation of the novel was released in 2001, and the novel has also been adapted for the stage. In 2001, Red Dog was published - a collection of stories inspired by a statue of a dog encountered on a trip to a writers' festival in Australia in 1998.

Prizes and awards
1991 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia Region, Best First Book) The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts
1992 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia Region, Best Book) Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord
1994 Sunday Express Book of the Year (shortlist) Corelli's Mandolin
1995 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Overall Winner, Best Book) Corelli's Mandolin
1995 Lannan Literary Award (Fiction)
1997 British Book Awards Author of the Year
2004 Whitbread Novel Award (shortlist) Birds Without Wings
2005 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia Region, Best Book) (shortlist) Birds Without Wings

.
Top of page
...more

Combine Editions
Louis de Bernières’s books

Average rating: 3.99 · 144,579 ratings · 9,014 reviews · 64 distinct works • Similar authors

	Corelli’s Mandolin 4.02 avg rating — 87,547 ratings — published 1994 — 184 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
	Birds Without Wings 4.16 avg rating — 15,267 ratings — published 2004 — 83 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
	The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts 4.06 avg rating — 6,891 ratings — published 1990 — 45 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
	The Dust That Falls from Dreams 3.61 avg rating — 6,331 ratings — published 2015 — 36 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
	Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord 4.11 avg rating — 4,784 ratings — published 1991 — 48 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
	Red Dog 3.80 avg rating — 4,182 ratings — published 1999 — 59 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
	The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzmán 4.13 avg rating — 3,687 ratings — published 1992 — 30 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
	Notwithstanding 3.81 avg rating — 2,684 ratings — published 2009 — 5 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
	So Much Life Left Over 3.86 avg rating — 2,593 ratings — published 2018 — 18 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
	A Partisan's Daughter 3.21 avg rating — 2,924 ratings — published 2008 — 45 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

More books by Louis de Bernières…

Series by Louis de Bernières

Latin American Trilogy (3 books)
by

Louis de Bernières

4.11 avg rating — 16,027 ratings

Daniel Pitt Trilogy (3 books)
by

Louis de Bernières

3.74 avg rating — 9,849 ratings

Related News

Interview with Louis de Bernières

In The Dust that Falls from Dreams, the latest novel from the author of Captain Corelli's Mandolin, a British family with four daughters weathers...

Polls

March 2018 New School

Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald, 317 pgs, 1933

64 votes, 18.7%

The Castle by Franz Kafka, 316 pgs, 1926

39 votes, 11.4%

My Ántonia by Willa Cather, 232 pgs, 1918

34 votes, 9.9%

Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner, 320 pgs, 1936

29 votes, 8.5%

All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren, 439 pgs, 1946

25 votes, 7.3%

Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières, 437 pgs, 1994

20 votes, 5.8%

The Wreath by Sigrid Undset, 305 pgs, 1920

20 votes, 5.8%

Cold Comfort Farm, by Stella Gibbons, 233 pgs, 1932

19 votes, 5.5%

The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa, 544 pgs, 1982

18 votes, 5.2%

Peyton Place by Grace Metalious, 384 pgs, 1956

13 votes, 3.8%

Ross Poldark by Winston Graham, 379 pgs, 1945

13 votes, 3.8%

The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton, 370 pgs, 1913

11 votes, 3.2%

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim, 232 pgs, 1922

9 votes, 2.6%

The Unknown Soldier by Väinö Linna, 338 pgs, 1954

8 votes, 2.3%

The Professor's House by Willa Cather, 256 pgs, 1925

7 votes, 2.0%

The Fixer by Bernard Malamud, 335 pgs, 1966

4 votes, 1.2%

A House for Mr Biswas by V.S. Naipaul, 623 pgs, 1961

4 votes, 1.2%

Martin Eden by Jack London, 480 pgs, 1909

3 votes, 0.9%

Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain, 688 pgs, 1933

3 votes, 0.9%

343 total votes

comments and details

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Next Best Boo...: JG's 2009 Reading List	30	403	Jan 10, 2010 10:30PM
Book Haven: Top 10 Trilogies	9	262	Feb 01, 2010 07:51AM
Between the Lines: What books are you reading?	1619	2052	Jul 23, 2010 01:06PM
Challenge: 50 Books: Bob's 2010 Book Shelf	68	173	Dec 31, 2010 07:16PM

More…

Is this you? Let us know. If not, help out and invite Louis to Goodreads.