Modern english literature

Sid Chaplin (1916-1986)

• Sid Chaplin was born in 1916 in the north of England into a miner’s family. Having graduated from school when he was sixteen, he began working at the coal mines. Only by the end of the thirties Chaplin managed to renew his studies at the workers’ college. Although his books began to appear in the late forties, writing never became his sole profession. Then Sid Chaplin was working in the administration of the coal mines in Newcastle and at the same time was writing novels and articles for newspapers and magazines. Chaplin did not win popularity with his first book

. His first publication was a series of short stories entitled “The Leaping Lad” published in 1948. It was followed by three novels: “My Fate Cries Out” (1950), “The Thin Seam” (1951) and “The Big Room” (1960). Widely read and highly appreciated by critics was Chaplin’s novel “The Day of the Sardine” which appeared in 1961. The novel “The Watchers and the Watched”, published a year later, was an equal success. The latest of the writer’s novels is “Sam in the Morning” (1965). As a writer, Sid Chaplin belonged to the so-called “working class literature” trend in English literature. This trend included, besides Chaplin himself, Alan Sillitoe, Raymond Williams, Stan Barstow, David Storey and others. The essential subject of Chaplin’s books is the life of the working class youth. The writer deals mainly with the present and the future of the younger generation of the English people. A teenager is always present in his characters.

• . His first publication was a series of short stories entitled “The Leaping Lad” published in 1948. It was followed by three novels: “My Fate Cries Out” (1950), “The Thin Seam” (1951) and “The Big Room” (1960). Widely read and highly appreciated by critics was Chaplin’s novel “The Day of the Sardine” which appeared in 1961. The novel “The Watchers and the Watched”, published a year later, was an equal success. The latest of the writer’s novels is “Sam in the Morning” (1965). As a writer, Sid Chaplin belonged to the so-called “working class literature” trend in English literature. This trend included, besides Chaplin himself, Alan Sillitoe, Raymond Williams, Stan Barstow, David Storey and others. The essential subject of Chaplin’s books is the life of the working class youth. The writer deals mainly with the present and the future of the younger generation of the English people. A teenager is always present in his characters.