William Trevor, novelist and short story writer, dies aged 88

William Trevor, the Irish novelist, playwright and short story writer, has died at the age of 88, his publisher has announced.

Penguin Random House Ireland tweeted: "We regret to announce the death of William Trevor, one of Ireland's greatest writers."

It added: "We extend our deepest condolences to his family."

The writer won the Whitbread Prize in 1994 and has been shortlisted four times for the Man Booker Prize.

Writer Joyce Carol Oates led the tributes to Trevor on Twitter.

"William Trevor, one of the great short story writers. Beautifully composed, lyrical, understated prose," she wrote.

Crime novelist Sarah Hilary : "RIP William Trevor, one of my favourite authors."

Trevor was born in Mitchelstown, County Cork, in the Republic of Ireland on 24 May 1928.

He was educated at St Columba's College and Trinity College in Dublin before working briefly as a teacher, and later as a copywriter in an advertising agency.
Honorary knighthood

Trevor married his college sweetheart Jane in 1952 and went on to dedicate many of his books to her. They had two sons.

His first novel, A Standard of Behaviour, was published in 1958 but he only began to work full-time as a writer in 1965.

He later disowned his first novel and said in later interviews that he considered 1962's The Old Boys to be his debut.

Trevor went on to publish more than 30 novels and short story collections during his career.

He was awarded an honorary CBE in 1977 for his services to literature, and was made a Companion of Literature in 1994. In 2002, he received an honorary knighthood.

The writer's most recent novel, Love and Summer, was published in 2009 and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize.

He has also been shortlisted four times for The Story of Lucy Gault, Mrs Eckdorf in O'Neill's Hotel, Reading Turgenev and The Children of Dynmouth.

Fools of Fortune, about a Protestant family attacked by the Black and Tans in the 1920s, was made into a film starring Julie Christie.

Trevor's novel Felicia's Journey, which won him the Whitbread prize, was made into a film of the same name starring Bob Hoskins and Elaine Cassidy in 1999, five years after its publication.

In 2003, he spoke to James Naughtie on BBC Radio 4's Bookclub programme about his short story collection, After Rain.