Peterkiewicz, Jerzy
Entry updated 12 September 2022. Tagged: Author.
(1916-2007) Polish author active as a poet in his native land from 1934 until he was forced to escape in 1940, spending World War Two in the UK, where he settled, wrote in English, and was married to Christine Brooke-Rose 1948-1975. His first novel in English, The Knotted Cord (1953), a tale dense with folklore, was published as by Jerzy Pietrkiewicz, the original spelling of his surname. The Quick and the Dead (1961) is an Afterlife fantasy [see The Encyclopedia of Fantasy under links below]. Inner Circle (1966), which is sf, remarkably conflates three strands of story: one set in the mythical past, one on the Circle Line of the London Underground (see Underground), and one in a horrific Far Future where congestion (under an artificial dome) is so great there is no room to lie down in this horrific Keep. Each story reflects the others, setting up a complex commentary on the human condition. [JC]
Jerzy Peterkiewicz
born Fabianki, Poland: 29 September 1916
died London: 26 October 2007
works (selected)
- The Knotted Cord (London: William Heinemann, 1953) as Jerzy Pietrkiewicz [hb/Val Biro]
- The Quick and the Dead (London: Macmillan, 1961) [hb/]
- Inner Circle (London: Macmillan, 1966) [illus/hb/F N Souza]
links
previous versions of this entry