Ian Rodger
Ian Graham Rodger (14 June 1926 – 30 August 1984) was an English radio critic and author.
Early life and education
[edit]Born in Brentford, Rodger was educated at Westminster School.[1] He joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1944 and later served in the Intelligence Corps until his discharge from the armed forces in 1947.[1]
He studied English at Durham University, graduating in 1952. He was an early staff member of the student newspaper, Palatinate, working alongside Harold Evans and Paul Edwards.[2]
Career
[edit]Rodger had stints as a reporter at the Newcastle Journal (1952–54) and the Scottish Daily Mail (1954–55); he then spent a year in Sweden as a freelance journalist.[1] His sudden decision to take a boat to Stockholm was motivated by discomfort with the ethics of his employer, who had ordered him to 'doorstep' a woman whose son had just been hanged.[3]
On his return from Sweden he began scripting radio plays and was later hired by The Listener as a critic.[4] He published a series of novels with a Swedish setting: The Sun is Dead (1959), Nine Flowers – A Novel in Summer (1961) and Seven Beds to Christmas (1967).[1] A Hitch in Time: Recollection of a Journey (1966) looks back on his experiences hitchhiking around post-war Europe as a young man.[5]
In 1977 he was the organiser of the first international conference devoted to radio drama. Held at Collingwood College, Durham, it attracted a 'surprisingly large number of people from all over the world', including a group of German academics who had been studying and teaching British radio plays.[6][7]
Personal
[edit]Rodger married Irish broadcaster and writer Mary Russell and had three children.[8] He died of motor neurone disease in 1984.[9]
Selected publications
[edit]Fiction
[edit]- Rodger, Ian (1959). The Sun Is Dead. London: Hutchinson.
- ——— (1961). Nine Flowers: A Novel in Summer. London: Hutchinson.
- ——— (1967). Seven Beds to Christmas. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0090853407.
Non-fiction
[edit]- ——— (1961). Sweden: A Book of Photographs. London: Spring Books.
- ——— (1966). A Hitch in Time: Recollection of a Journey. London: Hutchinson.
- ——— (1982). Radio Drama. London: Macmillan. ISBN 0333294289.
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 Eastwood, Philip (22 May 2026). "Caravan to Vaccarès: Nemesis of a Running Blind movie adaptation". The Bagley Brief. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ Evans, Harold (2009). Nelson, Alex J. (ed.). "My Paper Chase" (PDF). Castellum (62): 45. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ Mary Russell (2003). Journeys of a Lifetime. London: Simon & Schuster. p. 27. ISBN 0684019019.
- ↑ Ian Rodger (1961). Nine Flowers: A Novel in Summer. London: Hutchinson. p. 235.
- ↑ Jay, Mike (23 June 2022). "That Ol' Thumb". London Review of Books. 44 (12). ISSN 0260-9592. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ Vinson, James, ed. (1982). Contemporary Dramatists (3rd ed.). New York: St Martin's Press. pp. 900–901. ISBN 0312166648.
- ↑ Lewis, Peter, ed. (1981). Radio Drama. New York: Longman. p. 2. ISBN 0582490529.
- ↑ Simpson, Matt (6 July 2025). "Oxford broadcaster and writer who threw 'excellent parties' has died". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ Rodger, Freya (20 July 2025). "Mary Russell obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
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