Polly Morland

Polly Morland is a British writer and documentary maker.

Career

She worked in television for 15 years as a producer and director of documentaries for the BBC, Channel 4 and Discovery,[1] including The 9/11 Conspiracies (2004),[2] Who Wrote the Bible? (2004)[3] and The Fourth Age 410 AD - 1066 AD in the series Seven Ages of Britain (2003).[4]

Morland received a Jerwood Award in 2011 for work on her 2013 book The Society of Timid Souls: Or How to be Brave. The award was given by the Royal Society of Literature for "to authors engaged on their first major commissioned works of non-fiction".[5] The book is a study of courage and takes its name from a group set up by 1940s American concert pianist Bernard Gabriel to help performers overcome stage fright.[6] In the course of the book Morland talks to "soldiers, surfers, a matador, firefighters and professional daredevils ... a man who fixes the upper sections of skyscrapers, and is afraid of heights ... people who have been diagnosed with terminal diseases ... a former armed robber."[7]

Her 2022 work A Fortunate Woman: A Country Doctor’s Story was shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize.[8] The book mirrors John Berger's 1967 work A Fortunate Man: The Story of a Country Doctor, after Morland found a copy of this work while clearing her mother's house and realised that it was an account of a GP's life in the same area. She contacted a contemporary doctor working in the area, who herself had been inspired to take up medicine after reading Berger's book as a child, and the book is an account of her 21st-century general practice.[9][10]

Morland held a Royal Society of Literature fellowship at Cardiff University in 2020–2023.[1]

Selected publications

• Morland, Polly (2013). The Society of Timid Souls : or, How to be brave. Profile Books. ISBN 9781781251904.
• Morland, Polly (2014). Metamorphosis : how and why we change. Profile Books. ISBN 9781781254134.
• Morland, Polly (2015). Risk wise : nine everyday adventures. Profile Books. ISBN 9781781254486.
• Morland, Polly (2022). A fortunate woman : a country doctor's story. Picador. ISBN 9781529071139.

References

1. "Polly Morland". The Royal Literary Fund. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
2. "The 9/11 Conspiracies". collections-search.bfi.org.uk. BFI Collections Search. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
3. "Who Wrote the Bible?". collections-search.bfi.org.uk. BFI Collections Search. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
4. "The Fourth Age 410 Ad - 1066 Ad". collections-search.bfi.org.uk. BFI Collections Search. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
5. "RSL Jerwood Awards". Royal Society of Literature. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
6. Kellaway, Kate (19 May 2013). "The Society of Timid Souls by Polly Morland – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
7. Leith, William (16 May 2013). "The Society of Timid Souls, by Polly Morland - review". The Spectator. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
8. "A Fortunate Woman". thebailliegiffordprize.co.uk. The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
9. "A study of rural general practice, inspired by John Berger". TLS. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
10. Self, John. "A Fortunate Woman by Polly Morland review — doing the rounds with a country GP". The Times. Retrieved 2 January 2023.

External links

• Official website
• Polly Morland at IMDb
• Video interview, 4 July 2022 and Interview transcript for Bristol Ideas