Beryl Margaret Bainbridge (born November 21, 1932, Liverpool - July 2, 2010, London) is a famous English writer, Booker finalist in 1998. By Bainbridge’s own admission, she acquired an affinity for words thanks to radio broadcasts — parents usually turned the radio on at full volume to drown out the noise of family scandals. At the age of 14, Beryl was expelled from school for writing an obscene limerick, and at the age of 16 she became an actress in the local theater. Subsequently, Bainbridge worked as a clerk in a publishing house in a bottle factory. In 2000, the writer was awarded the Order of the British Empire and received the right to the title “Dame.”

The novel “The Grand Adventure” (shortlist for the 1999 Booker Prize) served as the literary basis for the film of the same name directed by Mike Newell (1994), where one of the main roles was played by Hugh Grant. The heroine of the novel, young Stella, who grew up without parents under the tutelage of her enthusiastic uncle Vernon, an ardent theater fan, enters the stage and falls madly in love with the director …Bainbridge’s style is recognizable: discreetly sophisticated style, subtle psychologism and cunningly constructed intrigue. So cunning that the very last line contains an unexpected discovery for the reader.