Dennis, Nigel

▪ British author

in full  Nigel Forbes Dennis  

born Jan. 16, 1912, Bletchingley, Surrey, Eng.

died July 19, 1989, Hertsfordshire

      English writer and critic who used absurd plots and witty repartee to satirize psychiatry, religion, and social behaviour, most notably in his novel Cards of Identity (1955).

      Dennis spent his early childhood in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and was educated, in part, at the Odenwald School in Germany. He moved to Britain and in 1930 wrote his first novel. Traveling to the United States in 1934, he worked for the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures in New York City (1935–36) and then as associate editor and book reviewer for The New Republic. He was employed as a staff book reviewer at Time magazine (1940–58). After his return to London in 1949, he wrote reviews for Encounter magazine (1960–63) and returned as joint editor (1967–70). His book reviews also appeared regularly in the Sunday Telegraph (1961–82).

      In his first novel, Boys and Girls Come Out to Play (1949; U.S. title A Sea Change), Dennis explored the Adlerian notion that each individual's personality adapts to fit the social context. Both Cards of Identity and A House in Order (1966) retained some of his original concerns. The Making of Moo, a satirical play on the psychological power of religious fervor, was performed in 1957 and was published, together with the stage version of Cards of Identity, as Two Plays and a Preface (1958). His knowledge of journalism sharpened the satire of August for the People (1961), a much-praised play about the power of the press. His nonfiction included a critical biography of Jonathan Swift.

* * *