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Gervase Phinn is one of the most popular authors from England, who specializes in writing his books based on the Children’s Books, Biographies & Memoirs, and Literature & Fiction genres. He has written a total of three famous novel series in his writing career. One among them is known as ‘The Dales Series’, which is very much successful all around the world. Author Phinn was born on December 27, 1946, in Rotherham, West Riding, Yorkshire, England. Along with being an author, he is also an educator and has done a lot of remarkable work in this field. Initially, he used to work as a teacher and after his retirement, he decides to become a schools inspector. Later on, Phinn went on to become a Visiting Professor in the subject of Education at the Teeside University. Till now in his writing career, author Phinn has written and published around 5 volumes of memoirs, a few collections based on poetry, and several books based on education. Most of his writings show that he is particularly interested in writing about the literary and children’s literature. Before deciding to become an author, Phinn worked in a number of schools with a wide range of positions for around 14 years. After that, he became an education adviser and then an inspector of schools.
In between his different jobs, he had begun writing novels and some of his excellent writings helped him to become one of the most reputed authors in England. As of today, author Phinn works as a freelance lecturer, writer, broadcaster, consultant for the Open University, the St. John University’s Honorary Fellow, and Doctor of Letters at the Leicester University. When he began his writing career, he started working on a wide range of subjects. Over the period of years, he wrote numerous articles, books, chapters, short story collections, and poetry collections. As an educator, he has even published his own collections of poems, short stories, picture books, as well as several other anthologies. Overall, author Phinn is best known for his works based on memoirs, one of which is his The Dales Series. This series is also available in the form of audio books.
In the year 2004, the Speakers Club Association awarded author Phinn with the ‘Speaker of the Year’ award. Around the same time, one of the books of the Dales Series went on to win the Customer Choice Award at an award function organized by the Spoken Book Awards. The following year, he was conferred with the D. Univ award at the Sheffield Hallam University, which is the highest award of the university academically. This award was conferred on him by the Chancellor and Professor, Lord Winston. The other prestigious honors for author Phinn include a fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts and the Board of English Speakers’ Honorary Fellowship. He is very well known to have a great interest in children’s books and is popular as an entertaining and lively speaker. As far as his personal life is concerned, author Phinn is married and has 4 children. Many literary magazines and critics have praised author Gervase Phinn for having a great understanding and unique sensing ability for the love of children. He is also very well appreciated for having a unique gift of storytelling.
One of the successful memoirs written by author Gervase Phinn is titled as ‘The Dales Series’. This book series consists of 5 books in total, which have been published between the years 1998 and 2007. The initial book of the series was published under the title ‘The Other Side of the Dale’. It was released by the Penguin publishers, United Kingdom, in the year 1998. The plot of the book is based on the real life experiences of author Phinn which he gained during his profession as a schools inspector in North Yorkshire. As the story of the progresses, the readers come to know why most people tell author Phinn that his his stories have the scent of the sweetest flowers and his name sounds like a French yogurt brand. The main strength of Phinn in storytelling are his stories, which are always full of wisdom, wit, and warmth. He has tried to bring these things together in the first book of the series, which is placed against the scenic and beautiful, Yorkshire Dales, where Phinn gets appointed as the school inspector. All the characters portrayed in the book are brilliant and form the center of the tapestry. Among the leading characters are the fellow inspectors of author Phinn, along with an eccentric caretaker of the Center of Staff Development, a sporting and wild chairman of governors, several Ministry bigwigs, as well as the dedicated teachers with their unpredictable charges. The story of the book shows the description of the nativity play of the infants related to the Virgin Mary, skirmishes with the Lord, matters related to the fairer sex, as well as other stories of the disasters, dramas, and delights of being a school inspector.
The book that followed the first book in The Dales Series written by author Gervase Phinn was released under the title ‘Head Over Heels in the Dales’. This book was published by the Penguin publishers in the year 2001. The main story of this book also revolves around the life of author Phinn, in which he is shown as working as a school inspector in the Yorkshire Dales. At the start of the book, it is shown that Phinn thinks he has heard and learned about almost everything during his 2 years as the inspection head of a school. But, when a six year old child inquires him with an important question, he gets surprised and realizes that children should be taken for granted. The mind of Phinn is already filled with other important things to do in life, such as marrying the most beautiful Headteacher all around, named Christine Bentley; and finding a good place to live around the Yorkshire Dales. He is also very much excited about his promotion. All the excitement that Phinn generates during his work, often get abetted and aided by his office colleagues. On the whole, the novel’s plot shows how Phinn faces the greatest challenge of his life in the classroom for keeping his face straight all the time. Also, he has depicted how the children and teachers conspire alike against him to laugh out loud.
Dear Mr Phinn, I really love your books and have most of them. I reread them often and have just finished the Little Village school series. I do so wish you had written more of these as I want to know what happens to the wonderful characters you devised. Thank you
I’ve read a few of his books, and found them brilliant. My wife knows when I’m reading his books, she says I start laughing. If anyone is going through a bad time, I recommend reading his dales series. It will soon perk you up.
We were fortunate to meet Gervase Finn on a recent cruise, we had dinner with him and attended.the wonderful talks he gave during the voyage. We had started reading his books many years earlier, and were so delighted to find that he was one of the guest speakers. It was the highlight of our trip
I LOVED your School at the Top of the Dale, Tales out of School and A Class Act and wondered if you are going to be writing any more in this series. I hope so!
I have read most of Gervase Phinn, and enjoyed.
I don’t like the use of ‘ the devils own job’ or how it is used.
I am Yorkshire born and bread and Never heard this saying, nor have those I have asked.
Leaves a nasty taste and uncomfortable feeling with myself and those I have spoken to about it.
Such a shame, spoiling such good reads.
“The School at the Top of the Dale”
The school at the top of the Dale , where I attended school is now a house; sadly it closed in 1958/9 due to shortage of pupils. people didn’t breed as prolifically then as they had done in earlier years; maybe it was just the population getting older and boys of my age tended to move for further education then work.
This book takes me back to my happy early years, feeding calves before school and feeding hens ; collecting eggs.
I am trying my hand , along with that of my wife at writing, I had a pithy saying of my grandmothers all lined up, when the burger Phinn uses it in his book. my Granny was the only person I have heard use it; Phinn must have been eavesdropping. :o)
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Dear Mr Phinn, I really love your books and have most of them. I reread them often and have just finished the Little Village school series. I do so wish you had written more of these as I want to know what happens to the wonderful characters you devised. Thank you
I’ve read a few of his books, and found them brilliant. My wife knows when I’m reading his books, she says I start laughing. If anyone is going through a bad time, I recommend reading his dales series. It will soon perk you up.
We were fortunate to meet Gervase Finn on a recent cruise, we had dinner with him and attended.the wonderful talks he gave during the voyage. We had started reading his books many years earlier, and were so delighted to find that he was one of the guest speakers. It was the highlight of our trip
I LOVED your School at the Top of the Dale, Tales out of School and A Class Act and wondered if you are going to be writing any more in this series. I hope so!
I have read most of Gervase Phinn, and enjoyed.
I don’t like the use of ‘ the devils own job’ or how it is used.
I am Yorkshire born and bread and Never heard this saying, nor have those I have asked.
Leaves a nasty taste and uncomfortable feeling with myself and those I have spoken to about it.
Such a shame, spoiling such good reads.
I have many of Gervaise books, enjoy them sll and hsve read some over again. Need to make sure I hsve latest one out. Kèep writing.
“The School at the Top of the Dale”
The school at the top of the Dale , where I attended school is now a house; sadly it closed in 1958/9 due to shortage of pupils. people didn’t breed as prolifically then as they had done in earlier years; maybe it was just the population getting older and boys of my age tended to move for further education then work.
This book takes me back to my happy early years, feeding calves before school and feeding hens ; collecting eggs.
I am trying my hand , along with that of my wife at writing, I had a pithy saying of my grandmothers all lined up, when the burger Phinn uses it in his book. my Granny was the only person I have heard use it; Phinn must have been eavesdropping. :o)