Patrick Hamilton was a successful writer in England from the 1930s to the 1950s. He made most of his considerable income from successful stage plays but it is his best novels that have survived and received serious critical attention. He also wrote radio plays for the BBC and screenplays for both British and American film producers. He was never a member of the London literary establishment as his work was outside the mainstream in both style and subject matter. Nonetheless, he won the respect and praise of such supporters as Graham Greene, J. B. Priestley and more recently Peter Ackroyd. Ackroyd has judged Hamilton to be an important contributor to the tradition of the London novel and, along with Elizabeth Bowen, the most important exp

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First published 12 November 2001

Citation: Mepham, John. "Patrick Hamilton". The Literary Encyclopedia. 12 November 2001.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1959, accessed 9 February 2010.]