It’s two years since the death of Sir Terry Pratchett author of the Discworld novels, and with his death the nation lost a real treasure. During his career, Pratchett wrote 70 books, translated into 37 languages in a career that spanned 44 years totalling 70 million sales making him one of the best known, and best loved English authors of all time.
After the author’s death the City council in Salisbury, Wiltshire, the author’s home, announced that there would be a permanent tribute to the author and this week a bronze bust has been unveiled in the town, ahead of other plans for a 7 foot statue of the author.
Paul Kidby, who illustrated Sir Terry’s Discworld novels before the author’s death in 2015, created the bronze bust, and he said getting the expression right was especially hard, trying to portray Pratchett as not unhappy, but not smiling too much.
The next stage is to make a maquette or model of the author for the main statue and it’s likely there will be a few extra additions in the form of the characters from the Discworld series. It’s hoped that people who look at the statue will be inspired to go off and find more, maybe even reading the series.
Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, you can watch the unveiling, even if you’re nowhere near Salisbury. Here’s the video with Paul Kidby interviewed:
The likeness of the West Country fantasy author Sir Terry Pratchett is being cast in bronze ? pic.twitter.com/4pPEowHLmC
— BBC Points West (@bbcpointswest) March 14, 2017
(video embedded from BBC News)
And if you’re interested in starting the Discworld series, check out Pratchett’s author page on Amazon, or pop into your local bookshop.
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