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{{Short description|British actor and writer}}
'''Nicholas Stuart Gray''' ([[October 23]], [[1922]], Scotland - [[1981]]) was a [[Great Britain|British]] actor and playwright, perhaps best known for his work in children's theatre in [[England]]. He was also an author of children's fantasy; He wrote over a dozen novels, several plays, and many short stories.
{{For|the headmaster of Eton|Nicholas Grey}}{{Infobox person
| name = Nicholas Stuart Gray
| birth_name = Phyllis Loriot Hatch
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1912|10|23}}
| birth_place = [[London]], England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1981|03|17|1912|10|23}}
| death_place = London, England
| occupation = {{hlist|Playwright|author|actor}}
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
<!--as Nicholas Gray redirects here-->
'''Nicholas Stuart Gray''' (born '''Phyllis Loriot Hatch;''' 23 October 1912{{snd}}17 March 1981) was a [[Great Britain|British]] actor and playwright perhaps best known for his work in children's theatre in [[England]]. He was also an author of children's [[fantasy]]; he wrote a number of novels, a dozen plays, and many short stories. Gray worked as an actor during the 1930s. He began presenting as male around 1939, and underwent a medical transition in 1959.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Clute |first=John |date=2023-03-27 |title=Gray, Nicholas Stuart |url=https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/gray_nicholas_stuart |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925001141/https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/gray_nicholas_stuart |archive-date=2023-09-25 |access-date=2024-02-04 |website=[[The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction]]}}</ref> [[Neil Gaiman]] has written that Gray "is one of those authors I loved as a boy who holds up even better on rereading as an adult".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2005/11/includes-special-guest-review.html|website=neilgaiman.com|title=Includes special guest review|date=26 November 2005|access-date=29 April 2022}}</ref> Many other modern fantasy authors, such as [[Cecilia Dart-Thornton]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.futurefiction.com/author_spotlight.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707122910/http://www.futurefiction.com/author_spotlight.htm|website=futurefiction.com|title=Author Spotlight {{!}} An Interview with Cecilia Dart-Thornton (August, 2001)|archive-date=7 July 2017}}</ref> [[Kate Forsyth]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kateforsyth.com.au/_blog/Kate%27s_Blog/post/Books_I%27ve_been_reading_in_2011_/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121230111721/http://www.kateforsyth.com.au/_blog/Kate's_Blog/post/Books_I've_been_reading_in_2011_/|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 December 2012|title=Books I've been reading in 2011|website=kateforsyth.com.au|accessdate=9 June 2016}}</ref> [[Cassandra Golds]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wheelercentre.com/projects/victorian-premier-s-literary-awards-2011/book/the-three-loves-of-persimmon|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006080912/http://wheelercentre.com/projects/victorian-premier-s-literary-awards-2011/book/the-three-loves-of-persimmon|work=[[Wheeler Centre]]|title='The Three Loves of Persimmon'|first=Cassandra|last=Golds|archivedate=6 October 2012}}</ref> [[Sophie Masson]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.boomerangbooks.com.au/five-very-bookish-questions-with-author-sophie-masson/2012/08|work=Boomerang Books|title=The Boomerang Books Blog {{!}} Five Very Bookish Questions with author Sophie Masson|date=30 August 2012|access-date=29 April 2022}}</ref> and [[Garth Nix]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.garthnix.co.uk/index.tao?PageId=sabriel|archive-url=https://archive.today/20070626171202/http://www.garthnix.co.uk/index.tao?PageId=sabriel|url-status=usurped|archive-date=26 June 2007|website=garthnix.co.uk|title=Garthnix - Interview 1: Sabriel|access-date=9 June 2016}}</ref> cite Gray's work as something they enjoyed as children.


Perhaps his best-known books are ''The Seventh Swan'' and ''Grimbold's Other World.'' Gray often produced adaptations or continuations of traditional [[fairy tale]]s and fantasy works, as in his ''Further Adventures of Puss in Boots.'' His ''The Stone Cage'' is a re-telling of ''[[Rapunzel]]'' from a cat's point of view. ''Over the Hills to Fabylon'' is about a city whose king has the ability to make it fly off across the mountains if he feels it is in danger.
==Selected works==

⚫
*''Grimbold's Other World'' (1963)
Gray maintained a long-term collaborative relationship with set designer and illustrator [[Joan Jefferson Farjeon]], who supplied the costume and scenic designs for many of the theatrical productions of his plays, as well as the illustrations for most of his printed plays and for the novel version of ''The Seventh Swan''.
⚫
*''Over the Hills to Fabylon'' (1968)

⚫
*''A Wind From Nowhere'' (1978)
==Bibliography==
⚫
*''The Sorcerer's Apprentices'' (1986)
===Theatre===
{{actor-stub}}
====Plays for children====
* ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1951)
* ''The Princess and the Swineherd'' (1952)
* ''The Tinder Box'' (1954)
* ''The Hunters and the Henwife'' (1954)
* ''The Marvellous Story of Puss in Boots'' (1955)
* ''New Clothes for the Emperor'' (1957)
* ''The Imperial Nightingale'' (1957)
* ''The Other Cinderella'' (1958)
* ''The Seventh Swan: A Play'' (1962)
* ''The Stone Cage: A Play'' (1963)
* ''New Lamps for Old'' (1968)
* ''Gawain and the Green Knight'' (1969)
===Prose===
====Novels for children====
⚫
* ''Over the Hills to Fabylon'' (1954)
* ''Down in the Cellar'' (1961)
* ''The Seventh Swan: A Novel'' (1962)
⚫
* ''Grimbold's Other World'' (1963)
* ''The Stone Cage: A Novel'' (1963)
* ''The Apple Stone'' (1965)
* ''The Further Adventures of Puss in Boots'' (1971)
* ''The Wardens of the Weir'' (1978)
* ''The Garland of Filigree'' (1979)
====Short fiction for children====
=====Collections=====
* ''Mainly in Moonlight'' (1965) (twelve short stories)
* ''The Edge of Evening'' (1976) (eight short stories)
⚫
* ''A Wind from Nowhere'' (1978) (nine short stories)
=====Other short fiction=====
⚫
* ''The Sorcerer's Apprentices'' (1986) (picture book of a story from ''Mainly in Moonlight'')
====Novels for adults====
* ''Killer's Cookbook'' (1976)
====Nonfiction====
* ''The Boys: Cats with Everything'' (1968)
===Poetry===
* ''Facets: Poems and Pictures'' (1977)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{isfdb name|5810}}
* {{LCAuth|n50032138|Nicholas Stuart Gray|13|ue}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Nicholas Stuart}}
[[Category:English people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:Writers from London]]
[[Category:British fantasy writers]]
[[Category:British children's writers]]
[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:1981 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century British dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:LGBTQ people from London]]
[[Category:British transgender men]]
[[Category:British transgender writers]]
[[Category:Male actors from London]]
[[Category:British transgender actors]]

Latest revision as of 13:33, 23 September 2024

For the headmaster of Eton, see Nicholas Grey.
Nicholas Stuart Gray
Born
Phyllis Loriot Hatch

(1912-10-23)October 23, 1912
London, England
DiedMarch 17, 1981(1981-03-17) (aged 68)
London, England
Occupations
  • Playwright
  • author
  • actor

Nicholas Stuart Gray (born Phyllis Loriot Hatch; 23 October 1912 – 17 March 1981) was a British actor and playwright perhaps best known for his work in children's theatre in England. He was also an author of children's fantasy; he wrote a number of novels, a dozen plays, and many short stories. Gray worked as an actor during the 1930s. He began presenting as male around 1939, and underwent a medical transition in 1959.[1] Neil Gaiman has written that Gray "is one of those authors I loved as a boy who holds up even better on rereading as an adult".[2] Many other modern fantasy authors, such as Cecilia Dart-Thornton,[3] Kate Forsyth,[4] Cassandra Golds,[5] Sophie Masson,[6] and Garth Nix,[7] cite Gray's work as something they enjoyed as children.

Perhaps his best-known books are The Seventh Swan and Grimbold's Other World. Gray often produced adaptations or continuations of traditional fairy tales and fantasy works, as in his Further Adventures of Puss in Boots. His The Stone Cage is a re-telling of Rapunzel from a cat's point of view. Over the Hills to Fabylon is about a city whose king has the ability to make it fly off across the mountains if he feels it is in danger.

Gray maintained a long-term collaborative relationship with set designer and illustrator Joan Jefferson Farjeon, who supplied the costume and scenic designs for many of the theatrical productions of his plays, as well as the illustrations for most of his printed plays and for the novel version of The Seventh Swan.

Bibliography

[edit]

Theatre

[edit]

Plays for children

[edit]
  • Beauty and the Beast (1951)
  • The Princess and the Swineherd (1952)
  • The Tinder Box (1954)
  • The Hunters and the Henwife (1954)
  • The Marvellous Story of Puss in Boots (1955)
  • New Clothes for the Emperor (1957)
  • The Imperial Nightingale (1957)
  • The Other Cinderella (1958)
  • The Seventh Swan: A Play (1962)
  • The Stone Cage: A Play (1963)
  • New Lamps for Old (1968)
  • Gawain and the Green Knight (1969)

Prose

[edit]

Novels for children

[edit]
  • Over the Hills to Fabylon (1954)
  • Down in the Cellar (1961)
  • The Seventh Swan: A Novel (1962)
  • Grimbold's Other World (1963)
  • The Stone Cage: A Novel (1963)
  • The Apple Stone (1965)
  • The Further Adventures of Puss in Boots (1971)
  • The Wardens of the Weir (1978)
  • The Garland of Filigree (1979)

Short fiction for children

[edit]
Collections
[edit]
  • Mainly in Moonlight (1965) (twelve short stories)
  • The Edge of Evening (1976) (eight short stories)
  • A Wind from Nowhere (1978) (nine short stories)
Other short fiction
[edit]
  • The Sorcerer's Apprentices (1986) (picture book of a story from Mainly in Moonlight)

Novels for adults

[edit]
  • Killer's Cookbook (1976)

Nonfiction

[edit]
  • The Boys: Cats with Everything (1968)

Poetry

[edit]
  • Facets: Poems and Pictures (1977)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Clute, John (27 March 2023). "Gray, Nicholas Stuart". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Includes special guest review". neilgaiman.com. 26 November 2005. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Author Spotlight | An Interview with Cecilia Dart-Thornton (August, 2001)". futurefiction.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2017.
  4. ^ "Books I've been reading in 2011". kateforsyth.com.au. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  5. ^ Golds, Cassandra. "'The Three Loves of Persimmon'". Wheeler Centre. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012.
  6. ^ "The Boomerang Books Blog | Five Very Bookish Questions with author Sophie Masson". Boomerang Books. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  7. ^ "Garthnix - Interview 1: Sabriel". garthnix.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
[edit]
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