// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Gordon Snell a good architect? Does he have a snell design sense?
Gordon Snell | |
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| Born | Gordon Thomas Frederick Snell 1 October 1932 Singapore, Straits Settlements, British Malaya |
| Died | 29 April 2026 (aged 93) Dalkey, Dublin, Ireland |
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| Alma mater | University of Oxford |
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Gordon Thomas Frederick Snell (1 October 1932 – 29 April 2026) was a British author of children's literature[2] and scriptwriter.[3] He was married to Irish author Maeve Binchy from 1977 until her death in 2012.[4] He lived in the home that he shared with his late wife in Dalkey, outside of Dublin, Ireland.[5]
Early life and education
[edit]Gordon Thomas Frederick Snell was born in Singapore on 1 October 1932.[6][7][8][9] He was an only child, and lived with parents in Singapore during the British colonisation period.[7] He went with his mother to Australia looking for a boarding school for him. They remained in Australia when Singapore was invaded by the Japanese in February 1942.[10] He attended the Geelong College in Victoria, leaving in 1946.[11] He was separated from his father for three years, who was taken prisoner during the Japanese occupation of Singapore of World War II. After the war, the family moved to the UK.[12] He finished secondary school in Wiltshire.[12] At Dauntsey's School he collaborated in school plays with Adrian Mitchell.[13] Snell attended the University of Oxford, where he was a friend and classmate of Bernard Donoughue.[14]
Relationship with Maeve Binchy
[edit]Snell met Maeve Binchy at the BBC where he was a freelance producer. He took his future wife on a hovercraft trip to Boulogne. But, they spent all their time there talking to each other, and never saw Boulogne.[10] He and Binchy married in 1977. Working freelance, they did not have to live near publishers in London, and ultimately moved to her hometown, Dalkey (just outside Dublin).[15] For Snell's 65th birthday, Binchy gave him a surprise gift of a rose variety named after him.[16] In 2011, the couple appeared together on the Irish television soap opera, Fair City.[17] He was by her hospital bedside when she died the following year.[4] At her death, Binchy's estate was valued at ten million euros, two thirds of which went to Snell.[18]
Writings
[edit]His books include:
- The Mystery of Monk Island (1995)
- The Curse of Werewolf Castle (1996)
- Dangerous Treasure (1996)
- The Tex and Sheelagh Omnibus (1996)[19]
- Amy's Wonderful Nest (1997)
- The Phantom Horseman (1997)
- Tina and the Tooth Fairy (2005)
- The Supermarket Ghost (2012)[20]
He commissioned and edited the collection Thicker Than Water on growing up, contributed to by Irish and Irish-American writers.[21]
Death
[edit]Snell died at his home on 29 April 2026, at the age of 93.[22][23][9]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Books by Gordon Snell". Good Reads.
- ↑ Lynch, Donal (5 August 2012). "Donal Lynch: Maeve stirred up love with a long spoon . . . (She was held in great affection, but even in Ireland the compliments could be backhanded)". Sunday Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
- ↑ "Gordon Snell". Dalkey Book Festival.
- 1 2 McGarry, Patsy (31 July 2012). "Maeve Binchy, best-loved writer of her generation, dies aged 72". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ↑ Neligan, Orla - Maeve and me: Gordon Snell opens the Binchy family album. Irish Independent, 6 April 2019
- ↑ "SNELL, Gordon Thomas Frederick (1932- )". Gnet.tgc.vic.edu.au. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
- 1 2 Shennan, Margaret. Out in the Midday Sun: The British in Malaya 1880-1960. Singapore: Monsoon Books Pte. Limited, 2015.
- ↑ Gordon Snell Brendan O'Connor Podcasts, Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) 26 March 2022
- 1 2 O'Rourke, Evelyn (29 April 2026). "Children's author Gordon Snell dies aged 93". RTE. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
- 1 2 Bol, Rosita (27 May 2017). "Gordon Snell on Maeve Binchy: 'Her presence is still here'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
- ↑ Gordon Thomas Frederick Snell 1932 - Heritage Guide to The Geelong College. viewed 21 April 2022. Original source, The Geelong College Pegasus Magazine June 1957 p51; The Geelong College Ad Astra magazine 1959.
- 1 2 'We wrote for different audiences, it made for a harmonious home'. Irish Independent, 30 September 2018
- ↑ Mitchell, Adrian. Just Adrian. United Kingdom: Oberon Books, 2012.
- ↑ Donoughue, Bernard. Westminster Diary: A Reluctant Minister Under Tony Blair. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016
- ↑ Murphy, Patsy (1 August 2012). "The inspirational partnership of Maeve and Gordon". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
- ↑ GORDON SNELL (Dicwriter). Dickson Roses, Viewed 21 April 2022
- ↑ "Maeve Binchy visits Fair City tonight". RTÉ. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
- ↑ McGarry, Patsy - Author Maeve Binchy estate valued at €10 million The Irish Times, 23 March 2014
- ↑ "Author of The Phantom Horseman, Dangerous Treasure, The Mystery of Monk Island, The Curse of Werewolf Castle and The Tex and Sheelagh Omnibus". Poolbeg.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ "Gordon Snell". The O'Brien Press, Dublin, Ireland.
- ↑ "Thicker Than Water edited by Gordon Snell". RTÉ. 11 October 2001.
- ↑ "Gordon Snell, children's author and husband of Maeve Binchy, dies aged 93". The Irish Times. 29 April 2026. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
- ↑ "Gordon Snell, author and Maeve Binchy's husband, dies aged 93". TheJournal.ie. 29 April 2026. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
External links
[edit]- Gordon Snell at IMDb
- Gordon Snell discography at Discogs