YORKE, Malcolm 1938-

PERSONAL: Born September 2, 1938, in England; son of Kenneth (an engineer) and Iris (a homemaker; maiden name, Kelsey) Yorke; married Mavis (a lecturer), 1966; children: Rachel, Jonathan. Ethnicity: "English." Education: University of Durham, B.A., 1960; University of London, postgraduate certificate in education, 1961, M.Phil., 1968; University of Sheffield, Ph.D., 1977. Hobbies and other interests: Tennis, painting, sculpturing, travel.

ADDRESSES: Home—Newcastle-on-Tyne, England. Agent—David Higham Associates Ltd., 5-8 Lower John St., Golden Sq., London W1R 4HA, England.

CAREER: Worked as primary and secondary schoolmaster; University of Jyvaskyla, Jyvaskyla, Finland, lecturer, 1965-67; Northumbria University, Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, senior lecturer, 1968-96. Artist, with solo exhibitions of sculpture, oil painting, and portraiture.

MEMBER: Royal Society of Arts (fellow).

WRITINGS:

nonfiction

Eric Gill: Man of Flesh and Spirit, Universe (New York, NY), 1982.

The Spirit of Place: Nine Neo-Romantic Artists and

Their Times, Constable (London, England), 1988, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1989.

Keith Vaughan: His Life and Work, Constable (London, England), 1990.

Matthew Smith: His Life and Reputation, Faber & Faber (London, England), 1997.

Barry Burman, Goldmark (London, England), 1997.

David Blackburn: A Landscape Vision, Hart Gallery (London, England), 1997.

Mervyn Peake: My Eyes Mint Gold: A Life, Overlook Press (Woodstock, NY), 2002.

for children

Ritchie F. Dweebly Thunders On!, illustrated by Margaret Chamberlain, Dorling Kindersley (New York, NY), 1994.

Molly the Mad Basher, Dorling Kindersley (New York, NY), 1994.

Miss Butterpat Goes Wild!, illustrated by Margaret Chamberlain, Dorling Kindersley (New York, NY), 1994.

Scarem's House, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1994.

The Wishing Horse, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1995.

Class Four's Wild Week, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1995.

Beastly Tales: Yeti, Bigfoot, and the Loch Ness Monster, DK Publishers (New York, NY), 1998.

The Wishing Horse Rides Again, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1999.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Edward Bawden and His Circle, a biography of the English artist.

SIDELIGHTS: Artist and retired university lecturer Malcolm Yorke is the author of books for children, as well as a variety of critical works for adults. In Mervyn Peake: My Eyes Mint Gold, Yorke discusses the life and works of British fantasy writer and illustrator Mervyn Peake. Although Peake is not as well known as J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, or C. S. Lewis, who wrote the "Narnia" books, he was, like these authors, an important figure in twentieth-century fantasy literature. Yorke describes Peake's childhood in China, as the son of a medical missionary, and its influence on his later life; although Peake moved back to England when he was eleven, he never felt at home in England.

A Publishers Weekly, reviewer commented that the book is "entertaining, touching, and often amusing," but that Yorke's psychological analysis of Peake is "on shakier ground." In the New York Times, Claudia La Rocco praised the book, noting that Peake is well-depicted "in all his eccentric glory."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

Booklist, June 1, 2002, Ray Olson, review of Mervyn Peake: My Eyes Mint Gold: A Life, p. 1669.

Burlington, August, 1992, review of Keith Vaughan: His Life and Work, p. 537.

Children's Book Review Service, spring, 1994, review of Ritchie F. Dweebly Thunders On! and Molly the Mad Basher, p. 141.

Children's Playmate, July-August, 1994, Susan Todd, review of Miss Butterpat Goes Wild!, p. 8.

Horn Book Guide, spring, 1994, review of Miss Butterpat Goes Wild!, p. 59; fall, 1994, review of Ritchie F. Dweebly Thunders On! and Molly the Mad Basher, p. 295.

Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 1993, review of Miss Butterpat Goes Wild!, p. 1598; April 15, 2002, review of Mervyn Peake, p. 555.

Library Journal, May 15, 2002, Denise J. Stankovics, review of Mervyn Peake, p. 99.

London Review of Books, June 27, 1991, review of Keith Vaughan, p. 5.

New York Times Book Review, July 21, 2002, Claudia La Rocco, review of Mervyn Peake, p. 21.

Observer (London, England), February 16, 1992, review of Keith Vaughan, p. 59.

Publishers Weekly, November 15, 1993, review of Miss Butterpat Goes Wild!, p. 79; May 27, 2002, review of Mervyn Peake, p. 48.

School Library Journal, March, 1994, p. 210.

Spectator, September 27, 2997, review of Matthew

Smith: His Life and Reputation, p. 40.

Times (London, England), December 3, 1981.

Times Literary Supplement, September 5, 1997, review of Matthew Smith, p. 20; February 23, 2001, review of Mervyn Peake, p. 24.