Two Lives

William Trevor's astonishing range as a writer his humor, subtlety, and compassionate grasp of human behavior is fully demonstrated in these two short novels. In Reading Turgenev, a lonely country girl escapes her loveless marriage in the arms of a bookish young man. In My House in Umbria, a former madam befriends the other survivors of a terrorist bombing with surprising results.(From Penguin Books)

Born in Ireland in 1928, William Trevor didn't see his writing career take off until 1964, when his early novelThe Old Boyswon the Hawthornden Prize, Britain's oldest literary prize. He has won three Whitbread Book of the Year awards and has received various lifetime achievement honours, including a knighthood. He died on Nov. 20, 2016.

• William Trevor on his "un-cozy" writer's life
• 30 books to celebrate 30 years ofWriters & Company

Interviews with William Trevor

Writers and Company51:51William Trevor in conversation with Eleanor Wachtel (1994)

Irish writer William Trevor discusses his autobiographical collection, Excursions in the Real World.