BIOGRAPHY
Timothy Findley was born in 1930 in the fashionable Rosedale district of Toronto. As a young man, he knew that he wanted to be an artist. Despite his family's misgivings, he began to study dance and later, with considerable success, acting. It was while performing in the London cast of The Matchmaker that he first met the actress Ruth Gordon and the writer Thornton Wilder. Both remained lifelong friends with Findley, and convinced him that his true vocation lay in writing. His first two novels, The Last of the Crazy People (1967) and The Butterfly Plague (1969), were rejected by Canadian publishers and were virtually ignored by the Canadian press. It was only with his third novel, The Wars (1977), that Findley received both recognition as a major Canadian writer and the Governor General's Literary Award. During this early stage of his writing career, Findley also wrote scripts for television, radio and film. His most noteworthy successes came with the television series The Whiteoaks of Jalna and The National Dream; for the latter, he received an ACTRA award for co- writing with his partner, William Whitehead. The Wars was followed by four other popular novels, two collections of short stories and Inside Memory: Pages from a Writer's Workbook (1990), a collection of articles, journal entries, and reminiscences. Findley has also written for the stage: Can You See Me Yet? (1974), John A. -- Himself! (1979), and, more recently, The Stillborn Lover (1993). 

The Wars remains his most-discussed book. Based partly on the war-time correspondence of his uncle, Thomas Irving Findley, and on family photos, he wrote the novel in guise of a researcher trying to reconstruct the story of Robert Ross, a soldier of the Great War. The book explores many of the obsessions that colour all his writing: violence, loneliness, a concern for animal rights, and the survival of the individual in a world of madness. Findley believes that a writer has a responsibility to speak out about what is wrong with society. 2 

Findley has been very active in the Canadian writing community; he helped to found the Writers' Union of Canada and has served as its chairperson. He has also been President of the Canadian chapter of P.E.N. International. 

Findley's work has been widely translated and he has achieved an international reputation. He has received numerous awards and honours in addition to those already mentioned, including the Canadian Authors Association Award, the Order of Ontario, the Ontario Trillium Award, and he has been appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. The critic Eugene Benson notes that, although Findley has not been prolific, "it can be said of Findley... that he has written only masterpieces." 3 
 

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WORKS BY TIMOTHY FINDLEY

NOVELS

The Last of the Crazy People. -- London : Macdonald, 1967. -- 282 p. 

The Butterfly Plague. -- London : Andre Deutsch, 1969. -- 376 p. 

The Wars. -- Toronto : Clarke, Irwin, 1977. -- 226 p. -- ISBN 0772011885 -- Titre en français: Guerres 

Guerres. -- Traduit par Eric Diacon. -- LaSalle, P.Q. : HMH, 1980. -- 272 p. -- ISBN 2890453294 -- English title: The Wars 

Famous Last Words. -- Toronto : Clarke, Irwin, 1981. -- 396 p. -- ISBN 0772013624 -- Titre en français : Le Grand Elysium Hôtel 

Le Grand Elysium Hôtel. -- Traduit par Bernard Genies. -- Paris : Robert Laffont, 1986. -- ISBN 2221011279 -- English title: Famous Last Words 

Not Wanted on the Voyage. -- Markham, Ont. : Viking, 1986. -- 352 p. -- ISBN 0670803057 

The Telling of Lies. -- Markham, Ont. : Viking, 1986. -- 359 p. -- ISBN 0670812064 

Headhunter. -- Toronto : HarperCollins, 1993. -- 440 p. -- ISBN 0002237458 

The Piano Man's Daughter. -- Toronto: HarperCollins, 1995. -- 461 p. -- ISBN 0002243792 

SHORT STORIES 

Dinner Along the Amazon. -- Introd. by Timothy Findley. -- Markham, Ont. : Penguin, 1984. -- ix-xxii, 253 p. -- ISBN 0140073043 

Stones. -- Markham, Ont. : Viking, 1988. -- 221 p. -- ISBN 0670822973 

DRAMA

Can You See Me Yet? -- Introd. by Margaret Laurence. -- Vancouver : Talonbooks, 1977. -- 9-13, 166 p. -- ISBN 0889221197 

The Stillborn Lover. -- Winnipeg : Blizzard, 1993. -- 92 p. -- ISBN 092136833X 

FILMS FILMS

Don't Let the Angels Fall. -- Prod. John Kemeny. -- Dir. George Kaczender. -- National Film Board = Office national du film, 1969. -- 16 mm. ; black and white ; 98 min., 55 sec. 

The Newcomers 1832. -- Prod. Gordon Hinch. -- Dir. John McGreevey. -- Nielson-Ferns, 1978. -- 16 mm.; colour; 59 min. ("Island") 

The Newcomers 1911. -- Prod. Gordon Hinch. -- Dir. Eric Till. -- Nielson-Ferns, 1978. -- 16 mm.; colour; 58 min. ("A Long Hard Walk") 

The Wars. -- Prod. Richard Nielson. -- Dir. Robin Phillips. -- Nielson-Ferns and the National Film Board = Office national du film, 1981. -- 16 mm.; colour; 120 min., 1 sec. 

NON-FICTION 

Inside Memory : Pages from a Writer's Workbook. -- Toronto : HarperCollins, 1990. -- 319 p. -- ISBN 0002156970 

EDITED WORKS 

Marshall, Joyce. -- Any Time at All and Other Stories. -- Selected and with an afterword by Timothy Findley. -- Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, 1993. -- 219 p. -- ISBN 0771098936 

COLLABORATIVE WORKS

The Newcomers : Inhabiting a New Land. -- A uthors, Timothy Findley et al.; general editor, Charles E. Israel; translation of "The Passage", Sheila Fischman; historical notes, Dennis G. Adair, Janet Rosenstock; captions, John Newlove; photographs, Norm Chamberlain et al.; art direction, Frank Newfeld. -- Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1979. -- 228 p.; coll. ill.; 26 cm. -- ISBN 077100154 

Imaginings : A Synthesis of Fact and Fable. -- Images by Heather Cooper, poetry by Janis Rapoport and prose by Timothy Findley. -- Conceived and designed by Robert Burns to celebrate the inauguration of the Ethos Cultural Development Foundation. -- Toronto: The Foundation, 1982. -- [8] leaves (4 folded); 4 col. ill.; 30 cm. 

MANUSCRIPTS

Timothy Findley's papers have been acquired by the National Archives of Canada, Ottawa. The collection includes manuscripts, correspondence, journals, photographs, drawings, and audiotapes. The most recent acquisition of material was in 1993. The interested researcher should request "Finding Aid No. 1731" for the fonds Timothy Findley. Please note that restrictions on access to some of the materials apply.