Sir Tom Stoppard

Doris Mader (Karl-Franzens-Universit)
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Tom Stoppard, Britain’s foremost twentieth-century playwright, who was called to Buckingham Palace at the age of sixty to be knighted “Sir Tom”, was born Tomáš Straüssler in a small Czech village, on 3rd July 1937. His family was of Jewish descent and, fearing the imminent German invasion, first moved to Singapore in 1939, then took refuge in Darjeeling, India. Unfortunately Tomáš father stayed on in Singapore and was killed during the Japanese invasion. Tomáš’s mother then married in Darjeeling a British Army Major, Kenneth Stoppard. Tom and his brother attended an American school, so when they finally moved to England in 1946, young Tom had already made English his first language and felt immediately at home. Leaving school when he was seventeen, his aim was to become a…

3529 words

Citation: Mader, Doris. "Sir Tom Stoppard". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 October 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4249, accessed 19 March 2024.]

4249 Sir Tom Stoppard 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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