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. Retrieved 2011-07-07. It is studied in GCSE English as an example of the best of modern women's writing.The Albatross - Study Texts S. (Book) by Susan Hill, et al. (1990): Waterstones.com Retrieved 2011-07-17.
Plot introduction The Albatross centers 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.Author's afterword in the 2000 Penguin edition of the book 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 a breaking point.
Inspiration The story was partly inspired by local composer Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes.
Publication history 1971, UK, Hamish Hamilton, , Pub date 11 Feb 1971, Hardback 1973, UK, Penguin, , Pub date 25 Oct 1973, Paperback 1975, US, E.P. Dutton, , Hardback 1978, UK, Hamish Hamilton, , Pub date Dec 1978, Hardback 1994, UK, Soundings, , Audio cassette,The Albatross / Susan Hill. (sound recording) / - Version details - Trove Retrieved 2013-01-02. Read by Patricia Gallimore 1995, UK, Isis, , Pub date Jun 1995, Large print 2000, UK, Penguin, , Pub date 30 Nov 2000, Paperbackwww.fantasticfiction.co.uk Retrieved 2012-11-18.
See also List of works by Susan Hill
References
External links Review of collection from Saturday Review, published on 18 August 1975