Eric Malpass

English novelist (1910–1996)

Eric Lawson Malpass (14 November 1910 – 16 October 1996) was an English novelist noted for witty descriptions of rural family life, notably of his creation, the extended Pentecost family. He also wrote historical fiction ranging from the late Middle Ages to Edwardian England, and acquired a devoted readership on the Continent, particularly in Germany, where most of his books were translated.

Born in Derby and educated at King Henry VIII School, Coventry, Malpass, while writing in his spare time, worked for Barclays Bank in Long Eaton, Derbyshire. He would return home after a day's work and spend the evening writing. He was a regular contributor to Argosy, a short story magazine although it took him many years before he was first published. Many other short story magazines took his work and in 1955 he won the Observer short story competition. His first book, Beefy Jones, soon followed, and then Morning's at Seven which received good reviews, but poor sales in the UK. However, it topped the bestseller list of Der Spiegel in Germany and remained there for three years, after which it was stipulated that no book could remain there for so long in future. After his initial successes, especially with Morning's at Seven, he turned to writing full time. The bank refused initially to accept his resignation, then said he would forfeit his pension and only changed its mind after very protracted discussions. Married, with one son, two granddaughters and five great grandchildren, Malpass lived in Long Eaton until five years before his death, when he moved to Bishop's Waltham in Hampshire.