James Aldridge

1.

James Aldridge
July 10, 1918 – February 23, 2015

2.

He was born in the Australian White Hill in a large family with many
children. The mother always taught her son to be honest, to protect
the weak, to love nature. The future writer was the fifth, youngest child
in the family. In the mid-1920s, Aldridge's family moved to Swan Hill,
and most of his Australian works are based on his life in this town. In
1938 he moved to London.He studied at the Melbourne Commercial
College. During World War II, he worked as a war correspondent in the
Middle (Iran) and the Middle East, and writes about the Axis invasion
of Greece and the island of Crete. His early novels — "A Matter of
Honor" and "The Sea Eagle" — were written by him under the
impression of the work of Ernest Hemingway [1].

3.

His first novel, A Matter of
Honor, based on his own
experience as a writer, was
published in the UK and in
the USA in 1942 and
immediately established itself
as a bestseller. The main
character of the novel is a
young pilot of the Royal Air
Force of Great Britain, John
Quayle, fighting on obsolete
biplanes against Axis aviation
in the skies over Greece, the
island of Crete and North
Africa in 1940-41. The novel
became Aldridge's bestselling book until 1988.

4.

The writer's second
novel, The Sea Eagle,
was published in 1944.
The plot is based on the
story of the fate of
Australian pilots after the
crash on the island of
Crete in 1941. Despite
the fact that the reviews
of critics were more
restrained, the book
received the prestigious
award named after the
young writer and military
pilot John Llewellyn Rees
for 1945[2][3].

5.

One of the most successful and
widely known novels of the writer
was "The Diplomat", published in
1949. The novel takes place in
the Soviet Union, in northern Iran
— Azerbaijan and Kurdistan, as
well as in the UK. The book shows
in detail and fascinatingly the
work of Soviet and British
diplomats: how certain political
decisions are made at the
highest level. It also tells about
the political situation in Iran
during the revolution of 1945. The
life, culture and local flavor of
Iranians and Kurds are colorfully
shown. The book received mixed
reviews from critics.

6.

The most famous works of the writer
are:
"A matter of honor” -- “Дело чести”
"Sea Eagle” -- “Морской орёл”
"About many people” -- “О многих людях”
"Diplomat“ -- “Дипломат”
"Hunter“ -- “Охотник”
"The last exile“ -- “Последний изгнанник”
"Captured by a foreign country“ -- “Пленённый чужой страной”
"My brother Tom“ -- “Мой брат Том”
"Cairo. Biography of the city“ -- “Каир. Биография города”
"Julie the Detached“ -- “Джули отрешённый”
"Mountains and weapons“ -- “Горы и оружие”
"The Amazing Mongol“ -- “Удивителный монгол”