Editing Howard Spring (section)

==Biography==
Howard Spring was born in [[Cardiff]], the son of a jobbing gardener. He was forced to leave school at the age of twelve, when his father died, to start work as an errand boy.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://reading19001950.wordpress.com/2013/09/16/the-autobiography-of-howard-spring-1972/ |title=The Autobiography of Howard Spring (1972) |work=Reading 1900-1950|date=16 September 2013}}</ref> He later became an office boy at a firm of chartered accountants in Cardiff Docks and then a messenger at the offices of the ''[[South Wales Daily News]]''. He was keen to train as a reporter, and spent his leisure time learning shorthand and taking evening classes at [[Cardiff University]], where he studied English, French, Latin, mathematics and history. He graduated to be a reporter on both the morning and evening editions of the ''South Wales Daily News''.

In 1911 he joined the ''Yorkshire Observer'' in [[Bradford]] before moving in 1915 to the ''[[Manchester Guardian]]'', but was there only a few months before he was called up for the [[Royal Army Service Corps]] as a shorthand typist.

After the war, he returned to the ''Guardian'', where he worked as a reporter. [[C. P. Scott]], the editor, apparently regarded Spring's reporting skills highly; he wrote of Spring that: "Nobody does a better 'descriptive' or a better condensation of a difficult address." Whilst working for the ''Guardian'', Spring lived in the suburb of [[Didsbury]]. In 1931, after reporting on a political meeting at which [[Lord Beaverbrook]] was the speaker, Beaverbrook was so impressed by Spring's piece (Spring described Beaverbrook as "a pedlar of dreams", which took Beaverbrook's fancy) that he arranged for him to be offered a post with the ''[[Evening Standard]]'' in London as a book reviewer. Spring described the offer as "irresistible", and the appointment proved successful.

At the same time, Spring was developing his ambitions as a writer; his first book, ''Darkie and Co.'', a children's story, came out in 1932, followed by his first novel, ''[[Shabby Tiger]]'', which was set in Manchester, published by [[William Collins, Sons]] in 1934. ''Shabby Tiger'' was adapted as a [[Shabby Tiger (TV series)|television series of the same title]] produced by [[Granada Television]] in 1973. It starred [[John Nolan (British actor)|John Nolan]] as Nick and [[Prunella Gee]] as Anna, with [[Sharon Maughan]] making her TV debut as the glamorous and ambitious Rachel Rosing. A sequel to the novel followed a year later, ''[[Rachel Rosing]]'' (Collins, 1935). Both were published in the US in 1936.

The children's story ''Sampson's Circus'', illustrated by [[Steven Spurrier (artist)|Steven Spurrier]] and published by [[Faber & Faber]] in 1936, was one of two commended runners up for the [[CILIP|Library Association]]'s inaugural [[Carnegie Medal (literary award)|Carnegie Medal]], recognising the year's outstanding contribution to children's literature by a British subject.<ref name=ccsu>[http://web.ccsu.edu/library/nadeau/award%20books/CarnegieMedal.htm "Carnegie Medal Award"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327101434/http://web.ccsu.edu/library/nadeau/award%20books/CarnegieMedal.htm |date=27 March 2019 }}. 2007(?). Curriculum Lab. Elihu Burritt Library. [[Central Connecticut State University]]. Retrieved 19 June 2012.</ref>

His first major success in the adult market came with ''[[My Son, My Son (novel)|My Son, My Son]]'' (1937), originally titled ''O Absalom''.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/561295/Howard-Spring |title=Howard Spring |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> It gained success in America, listed as a national fiction best seller in [[English Journal|''The English Journal'']] for eight consecutive months, starting in July 1948.<ref>{{cite journal |title=News and Notes |journal=The English Journal |date=September 1938 |volume=27 |issue=7 |page=617 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/806358}}</ref> The novel was [[film adaptation|adapted]] as the American 1940 film ''[[My Son, My Son!]]'' and later made for television by the BBC in 1977. [[WorldCat]] libraries report editions in Chinese, German, Hebrew and four other languages.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.worldcat.org/title/my-son-my-son/oclc/296037/editions?cookie=&start_edition=1&sd=asc&se=yr&referer=di&qt=show_more_ln%3A&editionsView=true&fq=&fc=ln%3A_25 |title="Formats and Editions of My son, my son". WorldCat. Retrieved 22 August 2012.}}</ref>

In 1939 Spring moved to [[Mylor, Cornwall|Mylor]] in [[Cornwall]] to become a full-time writer. (His wife Marion's father had a house at [[St Mawes]].) In 1940, his best-known work appeared: ''[[Fame Is the Spur (novel)|Fame Is the Spur]]'', the story of a Labour leader's rise to power. During the war years Spring wrote two other novels, ''[[Hard Facts]]'' (1944) and ''Dunkerley's'' (1946).

In 1947 Spring and his wife moved to [[Falmouth, Cornwall|Falmouth]], The White Cottage in Fenwick Road,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.countrylife.co.uk/property/beautiful-surprisingly-unlisted-falmouth-house-inspired-welsh-author-howard-springs-best-loved-settings-189335. |title=Country Life.}}</ref> and in the post-war period he published ''[[There Is No Armour]]'' (1948), ''[[The Houses in Between]]'' (1951), ''[[A Sunset Touch]]'' (1953), ''[[These Lovers Fled Away]]'' (1955), ''[[Time and the Hour]]'' (1957), ''[[All the Day Long]] '' (1959), ''[[I Met a Lady]]'' (1961), and his last book was ''[[Winds of the Day]]'' (1964). Spring also produced three volumes of autobiography: ''Heaven Lies About Us, A Fragment of Infancy'' (1939); ''In the Meantime'' (1942); and ''And Another Thing'' (1946), later published in one volume as ''The Autobiography of Howard Spring'' (Collins, 1972).<ref>[http://www.worldcat.org/title/autobiography-of-howard-spring/oclc/515254/editions?start_edition=1&sd=asc&referer=di&se=yr&qt=sort_yr_asc&editionsView=true&fq= "Formats and Editions of The autobiography of Howard Spring"]. WorldCat. Retrieved 22 August 2012.</ref>

During this period Spring served eight years as President of the prestigious [[Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society]] and as a Director of the [[University College Falmouth|Falmouth School of Art]] and President of the Cornish Drama League. The last was well known for producing plays at the open-air [[Minack Theatre]] on the cliffs near Land's End.

Spring was a successful writer, who combined a wide understanding of human character with technical skill as a novelist. His method of composition was painstaking. Each morning he would shut himself in his room and write a thousand words, steadily building up to novels of around 150,000 words. He rarely made major alterations to his writings.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/440079.Howard_Spring |title=Howard Spring |work=Goodreads}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Goodreads is considered generally unreliable, as per WP:RSPSS. |date=September 2024}}

Howard Spring died of a stroke. In 1967, his widow, Marion Spring, wrote an affectionate story of their life together, called ''Howard'', with a foreword by [[A. L. Rowse]]. It was published by Collins.