GLANVILLE, BRIAN LESTER

GLANVILLE, BRIAN LESTER (1931– ), English novelist and journalist. Glanville's first novel was The Reluctant Dictator (1952). He emerged as the leading young Anglo-Jewish novelist of the decade with The Bankrupts (1958) which exposed the sham culture of Anglo-Jewry's nouveaux riches, but proved controversial. Glanville was attacked in various quarters for his unsympathetic attitude toward and relative ignorance of Judaism. A Bad Streak (1961) and Diamond (1962) also incorporate critical portrayals of Jewish types. Three later novels on general themes were The Director's Wife (1963), A Roman Marriage (1966), and The Olympia (1969). Glanville became a sports writer for the Sunday Times in 1960, remaining in that position for 30 years. He published books on soccer, including A History of the World Cup (2002).