born Dec. 16, 1900, Ipswich, Suffolk, Eng.
died March 20, 1997, London
British novelist, short-story writer, and critic.
A full-time journalist from 1922 and a literary critic for the New Statesman (1928–65), Pritchett became known for his perceptive essays and reviews and for his penetrating and finely crafted short stories. His collections, which offer lively, ironic portraits of middle-class life, include You Make Your Own Life (1938), Blind Love (1969), and A Careless Widow (1989). He also wrote novels, travel books, and the admired memoirs A Cab at the Door (1968) and Midnight Oil (1971).