سيرة
Simon Raven, one of the most exceptional novelists of his generation, was also among Britain’s leading television scriptwriters. His acclaimed 'Alms For Oblivion' series explored the flaws and moral arrogance of the upper and upper-middle classes in the post-war era, earning him international recognition as a writer and a reputation as a notorious libertine.
A larger-than-life figure, he had a passion for cricket, gambling, alcohol, and relationships with both men and women. Often accused of snobbery, he insisted he wrote "for people like myself, well educated, worldly and sceptical."
His debut novel, Feathers of Death, which told the story of a homosexual romance in the Army, was published in 1959. However, he soon realized he could make a better living writing for television. His first TV play, Royal Foundation, aired on the BBC in 1961, followed by several others. His most renowned TV works were adaptations of Anthony Trollope’s novels, including The Way We Live Now, a six-part series later wiped by the BBC, and The Pallisers (1974), broadcast in 26 episodes starring Susan Hampshire.
In 1974, he adapted Frances Donaldson’s Edward & Mrs. Simpson (1980), a seven-part Thames Television mini-series that topped ratings despite objections from Wallis Simpson herself and reportedly the Queen Mother. He also adapted two Nancy Mitford novels for Thames TV: Love in a Cold Climate (1980) and The Pursuit of Love. His final television work was Julian Symons’ quirky whodunit The Blackheath Poisonings (1992) for Central Television, which received a reprimand from the Broadcasting Standards Council due to an especially noisy sex scene in its opening episode.
Later in life, Raven planned to adapt Vanity Fair and Brideshead Revisited for the BBC, but neither project came to fruition. In an interview with The Stage shortly before his death, he remarked, "I don't think there is a place for me on television anymore. I find the strain of working under modern television conditions increasing. It is too politically correct for me these days."
Reflecting on his life in the same interview, he said, "I would like to think that as a writer one had not deliberately done anyone else a bad turn or suffered from envy. If there is to be an epitaph then let it read: He always shared his bottle—and his bed.
