Alan Garner, born in 1934 in Congleton, England, is a British novelist most well-known for his children's books, although much of his work—like Treacle Walker—brings together elements from both children's and adults' literature. Garner's work is greatly influenced by his childhood growing up in the county of Cheshire, England, and many of his novels incorporate elements from Cheshire's dialect, landscape, history, and folklore.
Garner was born to a working-class family in Congleton, where he was punished in school for speaking in Cheshire's dialect. He continued his education at the Manchester Grammar School before going on to attend Oxford, intending to study classics. While at Oxford, Garner felt alienated from his familial and cultural background—Garner was the first in his family to receive a higher education—and left the university after deciding to pursue novel writing more seriously.
Garner's first novel, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, a children's fantasy book, was released in 1960 and received much critical acclaim. Following its commercial and critical success, Garner continued to write, and over the subsequent five decades, has released nine novels, nine collections of short stories and folktales, and nine other works of fiction. He is most famous for his adept explorations of English folklore and culture, as well as for being one of the most prolific British fantasy writers since J.R.R. Tolkien, author of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Garner's work has earned him several awards, including the Hans Christian Andersen Award. Garner became the oldest author to ever receive a Booker nomination following Treacle Walker's appearance on the award's shortlist in 2022.
Alan Garner's Treacle Walker, published in 2021 and shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize, is a brief but poetic novel that explores themes of time, reality, and perception. The novel builds on much of Garner's previous work, which similarly...
