Malcolm Lowry

Malcolm Lowry (July 28, 1909 - June 27, 1957) was a novelist.

Lowry was born in Cheshire, England and was educated at Cambridge University. He lived in the United States (1935), Mexico (1936), and Dollarton, British Columbia (1937-1954).

His finest work was Under the Volcano (1944). This classic, autobiographical novel, dwelt on the final hours in the life of an alcoholic British Consul in Mexico, beset by regret, guilt and a sense of hopelessness.

Lowry died in Ripe, East Sussex, England. The cause of his death is subject to debate. Whilst there is evidence of a drug overdose (anti-depressants) on the night he died, this was clearly exacerbated by that particular night's intake of alcohol, which was excessive, but none the less consistent with a lifetime of alcohol abuse.

Bibiliography

• Ultramarine (1933)
• Under the Volcano (1936-1944) made into a film by John Huston in (1984)
• Lunar Caustic (1958, posthumous)
• Hear Us O Lord from Heaven Thy Dwelling Place (1961, posthumous, based on experiences in British Columbia)
• Dark as the Grave wherein my Friend is Laid (1968, posthumous)
• October Ferry to Gabriola (1970, posthumous)

• Volcano: an inquiry into the life of Malcolm Lowry (RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video, 1984)