Author Language English Publication date Feb 1971 / Nov 2000 | Country United Kingdom Genre Social realism | |
Publisher Hamish Hamilton (collection)
Penguin Books (standalone) | ||
The Albatross is a novella written by Susan Hill, first appearing in the collection The Albatross and Other Stories published by Hamish Hamilton in 1971. It won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 1972. It appeared as a standalone book published by Penguin Books in 2000. It is studied in GCSE English as an example of the best of modern women's writing.
Contents
Plot introduction
The Albatross centres around Duncan, an intellectually disabled 18-year-old who has grown up with his domineering wheelchair-using mother in Heype, a Suffolk seaside town based on Aldeburgh. Duncan finds it difficult to cope with anything outside his daily routine, but is forced to interact with the wider world when his claustrophobic relationship with his mother reaches breaking point.
Inspiration
The story was partly inspired by local composer Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes.