David Lodge, ‘Campus Trilogy’ author and academic dies at 89

British author David Lodge, who was twice short-listed for the country’s leading literary prize, has died. He was 89.

Lodge’s family said they were “very proud” of the prolific writer, who died on New Year’s Day, according to a statement issued by his publisher, Penguin Random House.

Lodge is probably best known for his two Booker Prize-nominated novels, 1984’s “Small World: An Academic Romance” and “Nice Works” four years later.

The two novels followed on from 1975’s “Changing Places,” the first in a trilogy series about a fictional university. The trilogy was adapted successfully for television in the 1980s.

In a statement, his publisher described his career as ‘one of international success and literary influence, in the realms of both fiction and non-fiction. His criticism, plays, biographies, memoirs and television scripts stand alongside celebrated novels like The British Museum is Falling Down, Therapy, Deaf Sentence and A Man of Parts, and show the range of a writer who was fascinated by everything the written word could achieve.’

Academic pursuits

Lodge, who also wrote memoirs and television scripts, taught in the English department at the University of Birmingham between 1960 and 1987 before retiring to focus on writing.

“It was interesting growing up with David Lodge as a father,” his family said. “Conversation over the supper table was always lively, our mother Mary very much held her own, meanwhile, David was ready with a reference book to look up something that was being disputed.”

Lodge’s publisher, Liz Foley, said “his contribution to literary culture was immense, both in his criticism and through his masterful and iconic novels which have already become classics. He was also a very kind, modest and funny person and I feel incredibly lucky to have worked with him and had the pleasure of enjoying his wit and company over the course of his recent publications.”

He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1998 for services to literature.

Lodge’s wife, Mary, died in January 2022. He is survived by three children, Stephen, Christopher and Julia.

Additional sources • Penguin Random House