Author Alan Hollinghurst was born on this day in 1954.
The author won the 2004 Man Booker Prize for his novel In the Line of Beauty, which told the story of a young gay man and his contemporaries from university against the backdrop of Margaret Thatcher’s Britain in the 1980s.
The book was later adapted into a television mini-series starring Dan Stevens and Tim McInnerney.
Hollinghurst won the Somerset Maugham Prize in 1988 for his novel The Swimming Pool Library, which addresses homophobia through the story of Will, a privileged, gay, sexually confident 25-year-old who saves the life of an elderly aristocrat after he has a heart attack in a public lavatory.
This chance meeting ultimately requires Will to re-evaluate his sense of the past and his family’s history.
His other books include The Folding Star, The Spell, The Stranger’s Child and The Sparshot Affair. In 2017, Hollinghurst generated controversy when he declared the “gay novel” was dead, which led to negative feedback from other writers.
Hollinghurst lives in London with his partner, the writer Paul Mendez. He was knighted by King Charles III in the New Year’s Honours List of 2025. His investiture took place at Windsor Castle in March.
Speaking after the ceremony, he shared his joy at being given the honour.
“I am thrilled and astonished by it, really. All I have done is sit at home and write books, which is the thing I enjoy doing and find most fulfilling.
“It is a very extraordinary reward for having done that.
“Without sounding pompous about it, it also makes me very pleased for writing and for the novel.
“It is lovely that this art form should get this kind of recognition.
“There are about half a dozen novelist knights, and it is very special. To have that kind of attention paid to writing is very pleasing to me,” the newly knighted Sir Alan said.
This post was first published in 2020 and has been updated.
