GARNER, ALAN

born Oct. 17, 1934, Congleton, Cheshire, Eng. British writer whose works, noted for their somewhat idiosyncratic style, appeal primarily to young readers. Garner attended local schools before spending two years in the Royal Artillery and attending Magdalen College, Oxford. His first book, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen: A Tale of Alderley (1960), is a conventional albeit J.R.R. Tolkien-like tale for young readers set in Alderley Edge in his native Cheshire. The following twoThe Moon of Gomrath (1963) and Elidor (1965)shift back and forth in time but remain anchored both in local legend and in contemporary England. His later books vary in complexity, and readers reared before the multimedia, television-computer age sometimes find such novels as The Owl Service (1967) and Red Shift (1973) difficult. His later works for young readers include The Stone Book (1976) and Alan Garner's Fairy Tales of Gold (1979) as well as a collection of retold Celtic stories, The Lad of the Gad (1980). Garner has also written radio, television, and stage plays.