Terry Pratchett

Kevin P. Smith (Sheffield Hallam University)
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Terry Pratchett was Britain's most popular author of the 1990s and was one of the world's leading writers of fantasy fiction. Most famous for his Discworld series (his final Discworld novel,

The Shepard's Crown, 

was published five months after his death), thus far critical recognition has not been as forthcoming as commercial success.

Born in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, and educated in High Wycombe Technical High School rather than the local grammar school (because he felt “woodwork would be more fun than Latin”) Pratchett cites his major source of education as the Beaconsfield Public Library, a fact that goes some way to explaining the extraordinary range and breadth of reading that is evident throughout his work. At the age of 13 his short story “The Hades Business” was

1948 words

Citation: Smith, Kevin P.. "Terry Pratchett". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 September 2002; last revised 24 May 2022. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5185, accessed 19 March 2024.]

5185 Terry Pratchett 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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