Alan Scholefield

Alan Scholefield

Alan Scholefield (15 January 1931 – 26 October 2017) was a South African writer famous for his Macrae and Silver series.

He lived in Hampshire and was married to Australian novelist Anthea Goddard. They had three daughters.

Biography

Born in Cape Town, Scholefield was educated at Queen's College, Queenstown and the University of Cape Town where he read Eng. Lit. and where he won an athletics blue and broke a South African junior record. After university, from which he graduated in 1951, Scholefield became a journalist on The Cape Times and The Cape Argus.

Scholefield was one of a group of journalists and writers who left South Africa in the sixties to escape the rigid apartheid of the Prime Minister, Dr. Verwoerd.

With his first wife Patricia, he lived in Spain writing short stories for America, Canada and London. The marriage broke up in 1960 and in 1962 he married the Australian journalist and novelist Anthea Goddard and settled in London. He worked in the London bureau of the Sydney Morning Herald twice, in 1954 and 1960. Then as Defence Correspondent of The Scotsman. After his first marriage broke up his second wife encouraged him to leave journalism to write novels.

Scholefield's first novel A View of Vultures was published in 1966. In addition to his novels, Scholefield has written a non-fiction history of three African monarchies, The Dark Kingdoms. In the late 1960s his book Great Elephant was optioned by the American producer Jud Kinberg and sold on to CBS New York for which Scholefield did the first and second draft screenplays. He has written three dramas for South African Broadcasting (SABC) and a stage adaptation of Treasure Island.

In 1981 Scholefield's novel Venom was made into a film starring Klaus Kinski, Nicol Williamson and Oliver Reed.

Works

Macrae and Silver

• Dirty Weekend Macmillan (1990)
• Thief Taker Macmillan (1991)
• Never Die in January Macmillan (1992)
• Threats & Menaces Macmillan (1993)
• Don't Be a Nice Girl Macmillan (1994)
• Night Moves Macmillan (1996)

Dr. Anne Vernon

• Burn Out Headline (1994)
• Buried Treasure Headline (1995)
• Bad Timing Headline (1997)

Novels

• A View of Vultures Heinemann (1966)
• Great Elephant Heinemann (1967)
• The Eagles of Malice Heinemann (1968)
• Wild Dog Running Heinemann (1970)
• The Young Masters Heinemann (1972)
• The Hammer of God Heinemann (1973)
• Lion in the Evening Heinemann (1974)
• The Alpha Raid Heinemann (1976)
• Venom Heinemann (1977)
• Point of Honour Heinemann (1979)
• Berlin Blind Heinemann (1980)
• The Stone Flower Hamish Hamilton (1982)
• The Sea Cave Hamish Hamilton (1983)
• Fire in the Ice Hamish Hamilton (1984)
• King of the Golden Valley Hamish Hamilton (1985)
• The Last Safari Hamish Hamilton (1987)
• The Lost Giants Hamish Hamilton (1989)
• Loyalties Chapmans (1991)
• Night Child Chapmans (1992)
• The Drowning Mark Macmillan (1997)

Writing as Lee Jordan

• Cat's Eyes Hodder & Stoughton (1981 with Anthea Goddard)
• Criss Cross Coronet (1983)
• The Deadly Side of the Square Macmillan (1988)
• The Toy Cupboard Macmillan (1989)
• Chain Reaction Macmillan (1989)

History

• The Dark Kingdoms Heinemann (1975)

TV Serials

• River Horse Lake (1983)
• Sea Tiger (1985) SABC

Screenplays

• Great Elephant (1961 CBS)
• My Friend Angelo (1990) SABC

Stage Adaptations

• Treasure Island (1978)

External links

• http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/alan-scholefield/