Description
“Chris’s own subtitle for the book, Fragments from a Life in Writing, makes for a perfect description of what it is about. The pieces are arranged not according to when they were written but according to how they fit into the chronology of his writing life. Here you will find essays on many of the key enthusiasms that surfaced again and again in Chris’s writing: stage magic, H.G. Wells, World War II. And science fiction, of course, there’s plenty about that”
– from the Foreword by Nina Allan
Over a career lasting nearly sixty years, Christopher Priest was acclaimed as one of the most original and sophisticated writers of his generation. His novels won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the World Fantasy Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, the British Science Fiction Association Award, the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire, and many others; The Prestige was adapted into the Oscar-nominated film of the same name, directed by Christopher Nolan. He died in 2024, at the age of 80.
The Recollections brings together essays and talks by Priest about his life as a writer – and a reader – and is an essential companion-piece to his career for any reader of his fiction. Previously unpublished essays include “The New Wave 1964-1968”, in which Priest reflects on his experiences during a tumultuous creative time for science fiction and “Looking for Mr Raphael”, recounting an experience of young love on a family holiday, as well as four Guest of Honour speeches that chart his relationship with science fiction at different times in his career. The Recollections also reprints the long essay “The Magic”, describing Priest’s perspective on the filming of The Prestige.
Nina Allan, who provides the Foreword, is a novelist and critic, winner of the British Science Fiction Award, the Kitschies Red Tentacle and the Prix Medicis Etranger. She first met Christopher Priest in 2004 and later became his partner. Her most recent novel is A Granite Silence.
Praise for The Recollections
“If you only know Christopher Priest through his fiction, you’re missing out. This essential collection will introduce you to his non-fiction: by turns passionate, provocative, precise and unfailingly personal.”
– Paul Kincaid, author of The Unstable Realities of Christopher Priest
“The death of Christopher Priest meant the loss of one of the great post-war British literary figures. With this collection, we are able to spend a little more time listening to his voice: erudite, precise, considered, very funny, and – above all – scrupulously honest.”
– Una McCormack, New York Times bestselling author and Chair of Gold SF
“Christopher Priest cared deeply and passionately about the business of writing. His fiction stands as an argument against complacency and formula, and to that legacy we can now add these insightful, acerbic, self-effacing and frequently very funny ruminations on life, art, and the intersection of the two.”
– Alastair Reynolds, author of the Revelation Space series
“A fascinating glimpse into the mind of one of British SF’s greats.”
– E. J. Swift, author of The Coral Bones and When There Are Wolves Again
“A captivating outsider-then-insider view of the world of literature and science fiction from Christopher Priest, with intriguing insights into his best-known works.”
– Anne Charnock, author of Dreams Before the Start of Time
