Clive King - Stig of the Dump

[Courtenay]

Just read the news that Clive King, author of Stig of the Dump, has died aged 94: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-44823636" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I remember reading Stig of the Dump when I was 10 years old — another one that my excellent Grade 4 teacher Mrs King (no known relation to Clive!) introduced me to at a time when I was in an odd sort of I-don't-want-to-read-any-new-books phase (two others she persuaded me to read, for which I'm equally grateful, were Tom's Midnight Garden and The Children of Green Knowe). I haven't re-read Stig since and must admit I actually don't recall too many elements of the plot, but I remember how exciting and imaginative it was and I really must read it again some day! It's deservedly a classic. RIP Clive King.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Thanks for the link, Courtenay. I'm sorry to hear of Clive King's death. As a child I loved Stig of the Dump (brilliant title for a book!), which is a gentle but captivating story, and I was interested to read in the article that Clive King drew on his own adventures growing up with his three brothers in Kent. I also read The Town that Went South, though I only have vague memories of that.

[Eddie Muir]

I’m also sorry to hear of Clive King’s death. Stig of the Dump is a great book and was always popular with my pupils. RIP Clive King.

[Rob Houghton]

I'm sorry to hear of the death of Clive King. I must admit I never was a fan of 'Stig of teh Dump'. I loved the title, and the idea of it, but remember our teacher reading it to us as the 'end of the day' story book, and I found it deadly dull!

[Courtenay]

and I was interested to read in the article that Clive King drew on his own adventures growing up with his three brothers in Kent.

When I read that bit in the article, I must admit I felt like saying "What, so they really did discover a cave-boy in a quarry in Kent??" I live in Kent myself and I'm sure there are a few odd things hiding away there, but...

[number 6]

I never read the book, but I did watch a TV adaptation of the story in the late 70's(?).

[Rob Houghton]

I think I remember that being on - but I didn't watch it. Its seemed that Stig of the Dump was pushed quite a lot as a 'good book' that grown-ups approved of in the 1970's - read to us by a teacher, a large mural painted of it on the wall of our assembly hall at Primary School, a TV series - and I think it also appeared on Jackanory - which probably explains why I didn't warm to it. I was always a maverick!

[Anita Bensoussane]

You may be thinking of the 1981 TV serial of Stig of the Dump, Number 6, which I watched and enjoyed at the age of eleven. There was another TV adaptation in 2002 (it didn't stick as closely to the storyline of the book but was beautifully acted and engaging) which I watched with my daughter.