Author: John Bowen
Alternate names: John Griffith Bowen
Born: 5 November 1924
Died: 18 April 2019
Bio: John Griffith Bowen, born in Calcutta, India, was a British playwright and novelist. Bowen was the son of a British business manager working in India. He spent much of his childhood in England but returned to India during World War II, serving as a captain in the Maratha Light Infantry (1943–47). After attending Pembroke and St. Anthony’s College, Oxford (B.A., 1951; M.A., 1952), he went to Ohio State University for a year’s study. While there, he was revolted by the investigations of Sen. Joseph McCarthy. That experience inspired his first novel, *The Truth Will Not Help Us* (1956).

Back in England, Bowen worked in journalism and advertising (1953–60) and was a television drama consultant for Associated Television (1960–67). His early scripts for television films were *A Holiday Abroad* (1960), *The Essay Prize* (1960), *The Candidate* (1961), and *The Jackpot Question* (1961). He also wrote the TV programs *The Guardians* (1971), and *Heil Caesar!* (1973). Bowen adapted Noël Coward’s script for the film *Brief Encounter* (1946) for television in 1974. It starred Richard Burton and Sophia Loren. He cocreated (with David Cook) the television series *Hetty Wainthropp Investigates* (1996–98).

Bowen was a prolific producer of stage drama as well. *I Love You, Mrs. Patterson* (1964), *After the Rain* (1966), adapted from Bowen’s 1958 novel of that name, *Little Boxes* (1968), *The Disorderly Women* (1969), and *The Corsican Brothers* (1970). Later plays included *Spot the Lady* (1981), *The Oak Tree Tea-Room Siege* (1990), and *Cold Salmon* (1998). Bowen also maintained a steady output of novels. Among them were *Storyboard* (1960), *The McGuffin* (1984), *The Girls: A Story of Village Life* (1986), *Fighting Back* (1989), and *The Precious Gift* (1992).

Source: [Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Bowen)