Andrew Norman Wilson, a renowned author and award-winning biographer, was born in Staffordshire, England, and has created a name for himself in the worlds of writing and journalism. Wilson is the author of a variety of works, both fiction and nonfiction. Wilson, a Fellow of the Royal Society who was about to become an Ordinator, dropped out because he believed in atheism. Wilson created various works throughout his career, the most notable of which being the story “Winnie and Wolf,” which he published in 2007. The book, which has been long listed for the 2007 Man Booker Prize, tells the tale of Winifred Wagner’s unusual connection with Adolf Hitler in the years between the First and Second World Wars. Check out this biography to learn more about A. N. Wilson’s life and work.
Childhood and Adolescence
Andrew Norman Wilson was born on October 27, 1950, in Stone, Staffordshire, to Norman Wilson and his wife. He has a sister and a brother. His father was the managing director of the Wedgwood plant, a ceramic manufacturer, and a colonel in the Royal Artillery.
Andrew was sent to Hillstone School in Great Malvern, Worcestershire, by his parents. The school’s headmaster and his wife, unbeknownst to his parents, were pedophiles and sadists who sexually molested and tormented the boys. Andrew summoned the courage to throw a bowl of porridge at the headmaster’s wife after tolerating the agony for a while. He was eventually expelled from school.
After finishing his education, he proceeded to Rugby School and subsequently to New College, Oxford. In 1972, he earned his B.A., and in 1976, he earned his M.A. He was raised as a Christian and went to Oxford’s St Stephen’s House, the High Church theological college, with the intention of becoming an ordained minister in the Church of England. However, at the end of his first year, he had rejected religion and had gone.
Career of A. N. Wilson
A. N. Wilson began his literary career in 1977 with the publication of his debut novel, ‘The Sweets of Pimlico.’ The story follows an introverted woman who develops feelings for an elderly aristocrat. Within the next several years, he published two additional novels: ‘Hours’ (1978) and ‘Kindly Light’ (1979). (1979).
He began writing biographies in the 1980s and earned a reputation as a candid and amusing biographer. ‘The Laird of Abbotsford: A View of Sir Walter Scott’ (1980), ‘Hilaire Belloc: A Biography’ (1985), and ‘Tolstoy: A Biography’ were among the publications he wrote during this time (1988).
‘Against Religion: Why We Should Live Without It’ (1991), ‘Jesus: A Life’ (1992), ‘Paul: The Thought of the Apostle’ (1997), and ‘God’s Funeral: The Decline of Faith in Western Civilization’ (1998) are among his important books on the subjects of religion, spirituality, and atheism (1999).
During the 1990s, he also published many novels, including ‘The Vicar of Sorrows’ (1993), ‘The Tabitha Stories’ (1997), and ‘Dream Children’ (1998). ‘Dream Children,’ a moving work, deals with the issue of pedophilia and leans largely on the author’s own horrifying childhood memories.
‘The Lampitt Chronicles’ is a series of novels by A. N. Wilson that includes ‘Incline Our Hearts’ (1988), ‘A Bottle in the Smoke’ (1990), ‘Daughters of Albion’ (1991), ‘Hearing Voices’ (1995), and ‘A Watch in the Night’ (1996).
He provides or has written several essays on various issues to the ‘Daily Mail,’ ‘London Evening Standard,’ ‘Times Literary Supplement,’ ‘New Statesman,’ ‘The Spectator,’ and ‘The Observer’ as a newspaper columnist.
His non-fiction titles ‘Dante in Love’ (2011), ‘The Elizabethans’ (2011), ‘Hitler: a brief biography’ (2011), and ‘Victoria: a life’ (2011) have gotten him a lot of press in recent years (2014).He has also hosted a number of television shows. In 2013, he presented ‘The Genius of Josiah Wedgwood,’ a documentary on his great hero, Josiah Wedgwood, one of the Industrial Revolution’s founding fathers. ‘Narnia’s Lost Poet: The Secret Lives and Loves of CS Lewis’ (2013) and ‘Queen Victoria’s Letters: A Monarch Unveiled’ are two more shows he has presented (2014).
Major Projects of A. N. Wilson
‘My Name Is Legion,’ his novel, is regarded one of his most popular works. The novel centers around the issues of yellow journalism and Christian faith, as well as their influence on society and culture, and follows the life of a psychologically unstable adolescent.
Achievements & Awards
In 1988, his biography of Leo Tolstoy won the Whitbread Award for Best Biography.
In 1989, he received the E. M. Forster Award.
Personal History and Legacy
A. N. Wilson married Katherine Duncan-Jones, a Shakespeare scholar, in 1971. Emily and Beatrice were the couple’s two daughters. In 1990, their marriage terminated in divorce.
Estimated Net Worth
A. N. Wilson is one of the wealthiest and most well-known writers. A. N. Wilson’s net worth is estimated to be $1.5 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.