Anita Mason (born 1942 in Bristol) is an English novelist.
An only child, her mother was a housewife, and her father worked at a factory that manufactured aircraft engines.
After studying English at Oxford University, Mason eventually began writing after periods spent working in publishing, journalism and organic farming. Mason is the author of eight novels to date, as well as a number of short stories.
Her novels are Bethany (Hamish Hamilton, 1981), The Illusionist (Hamish Hamilton, 1983), The War Against Chaos (Hamish Hamilton, 1988), The Racket (Constable 1990), Angel (Hamish Hamilton, 1994), The Yellow Cathedral (Spinsters Ink, 2002), and Perfection (Spinsters Ink, 2003). Her latest novel is The Right Hand of the Sun, and was published by John Murray in September, 2008. The short stories 'Irma' and 'Interpretation' have been included in the collections Winter's Tales, volumes 6 and 9, respectively (Constable, 1990 & 1993, ed. Robin Baird-Smith).
The Illusionist was nominated for the 1983 Booker Prize in the UK.
Angel has been published with the alternative title of Reich Angel.
Anita Mason has taken up a number of fellowships at British academic institutions, such as Leeds, Warwick and Bath Spa Universities.
Mason's novels are extremely varied in terms of both their historical and geographical settings. Bethany is about a commune in Cornwall; The Illusionist is the story of Simon Magus, and his relationship with the early Christians; The War Against Chaos is set in a dystopian future (or alternative present) in which a victim of corruption encounters marginalized communities while in search of his estranged wife; The Racket is set in modern-day Brazil; Angel tells of a female test-pilot working for the Nazis (it is based loosely on the life of Hanna Reitsch); The Yellow Cathedral is an account of the political conflict in Chiapas, Mexico; Perfection is set during the Anabaptist rebellion in 16th century Germany; and The Right Hand of the Sun covers the Spanish invasion and settlement of Central America. Two short stories, 'Interpretation' and 'Irma' are both set in Latin America - the former in pre-colonial times; the latter in present-day Brazil.
Despite such diversity, a number of themes recur: the establishment of alternative communities that oppose the values of mainstream society; the tension between the desires of an individual and the priorities of the collective; the ambiguity of religion as both a force that brings meaning, and as a ready excuse for oppression and violence; the similarly ambiguous nature of sexuality as a source of affection and sensualty, but also as the site of unequal relationships of power; and the use of the past as a mirror of the contemporary period.
Mason is also the editor of Frome Hundred (2004), a collection of articles, poems and stories contributed by people from the area of Frome (Somerset, UK) at a number of writing workshops.
Read more about Anita Mason: Bethany, The Illusionist, The War Against Chaos, The Racket, Angel, The Yellow Cathedral, Perfection, The Right Hand of The Sun