Audrey Lilian Barker FRSL (13 April 1918 – 21 February 2002) was an English novelist and short-story writer.

Biography

She was born in St Pauls Cray, Kent, and brought up in Beckenham.^[1] She was an only child.^[2] When Barker turned 16, her father sent her to work at a clockmaking firm, as he did not approve of her seeking further education.^[2] She worked in the editorial office of Amalgamated Press, as publisher's reader for the Cresset Press, and at the BBC as a subeditor.^[2]

During her lifetime, Barker published ten collections of short stories and eleven novels, one of which – John Brown's Body – was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1970.^[3] She was also the winner of the inaugural Somerset Maugham Prize in 1947, with her collection of short stories called Innocents.^[2] In 1962, she won the Cheltenham Literary Festival award.^[2] Barker was also elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1970.^[2]

Barker's work often included themes such as love, good vs. evil, youth vs. experience, and explored children as both the catalyst and victims of events.^[4][5] While not commercially successful during her lifetime, her writing has been well regarded by the literary critics and other authors over time.^[6][2]

Gerald Murnane's novel Inland refers to Barker's 1981 book Life Stories.