Malcolm Lowry
Malcolm Lowry (1909–1957) was an English novelist and poet best known for Under the Volcano, a novel set in Mexico on the Day of the Dead in 1938.
Under the Volcano: Malcolm Lowry’s 1947 novel follows the final day of Geoffrey Firmin, a former British consul in Mexico. The novel’s interwoven histories, symbolism, and setting made it Lowry’s defining work.
Cambridge University: A university in Cambridge, England, where Malcolm Lowry studied English literature. Lowry’s studies there shaped his literary ambitions before his first novel appeared.
Stream of consciousness: A narrative technique that presents the flow of a character’s thoughts, perceptions, and associations. Lowry’s shifting interior perspectives expose the consul’s memories and disordered awareness.
Alcoholism: A chronic disorder involving impaired control over alcohol use and continued drinking despite harm. Alcohol dependence shaped Lowry’s life and is central to the consul’s destruction.
Ultramarine: Malcolm Lowry’s 1933 novel follows a young sailor’s voyage aboard a tramp steamer. Lowry’s first novel draws on his own experience at sea and anticipates his later themes.
Merchant navy: A country’s commercial shipping fleet, whose vessels carry goods and passengers rather than wage war. Lowry sailed as a young man, drawing on maritime life in Ultramarine.
Unreliable narrator: A narrator whose account is compromised by limited knowledge, bias, or distortion. The novel’s perspectives complicate certainty about what the consul experiences and understands.
Margerie Bonner: An American novelist and actress who was Malcolm Lowry’s second wife and literary collaborator. Bonner supported Lowry’s writing and helped prepare manuscripts for publication.
Lunar Caustic: Malcolm Lowry’s novella follows an alcoholic writer confined in a New York psychiatric ward. This unfinished work turns Lowry’s struggles with alcohol and confinement into fiction.
Mexico: A country in North America with a long history and diverse regional cultures. Lowry’s stays in Mexico supplied the setting and cultural textures of Under the Volcano.