Paul Bailey, the British author who explored themes of alienation and grief in his novels, has died at 87, the Guardian reports.
Bailey, a London native, was educated at the Central School of Speech and Drama and was an actor for eight years before publishing his debut novel, At the Jerusalem, in 1967, while working at the department store Harrods.
In 1977, he published the novel Peter Smart’s Confessions, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He would again be named a Booker finalist nine years later for Gabriel’s Lament, which became one of his best-known books.
His other books include the novels Uncle Rudolf, Chapman’s Odyssey, and The Prince’s Boy, the memoir An Immaculate Mistake, and the biography Three Queer Lives: An Alternative Biography of Naomi Jacob, Fred Barnes and Arthur Marshall.
Bailey’s admirers paid tribute to him on social media. On the platform X, author John Self wrote, “Immensely sad to hear of the death of Paul Bailey at the age of 87. Reading and rereading his novels and memoirs over the last year has been the greatest pleasure imaginable.”
Immensely sad to hear of the death of Paul Bailey at the age of 87. Reading and rereading his novels and memoirs over the last year has been the greatest pleasure imaginable. pic.twitter.com/4F1cnUp62j
— John Self (@john_self) October 27, 2024
And songwriter Terence Blacker posted, “I’m so sad to hear of the death of Paul Bailey. Not only a clever and perceptive novelist, memoirist, critic and poet but also terrific company. He once played the part of the Queen Mother in a publishers’ pantomime with camp, over-the-top brilliance.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.