Kingsley Amis, 1987 (photo)

Kingsley Amis (1922-95). English novelist, poet, anthologist and critic. He wrote more than 20 novel, and six volumes of poetry.He is best known for satiric comedy though he experimented with various other genres such as thrillers, science fiction and the supernatural. His first popular success was Lucky Jim (1954), after which he was dubbed an 'Angry Young Man'. He was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize three times, for Ending Up (1974), Jake's Thing (1978), finally winning it for The Old Devils in 1986. Having briefly joined the Communist party as a student, he became unfashionably right-wing for the remainder of his life. He was knighted in 1990.