Hartley, L(eslie) P(oles) (1895–1972)

English novelist and short-story writer. His early works explored the sinister. His chief works are the trilogy The Shrimp and the Anemone (1944), The Sixth Heaven (1946), and Eustace and Hilda (1947; Tait Black Memorial Prize), on the intertwined lives of a brother and sister. Later works include The Go-Between (1953; filmed 1971) and The Hireling (1957), which explore sexual relationships between classes.

Hartley was born in Peterborough and educated at Oxford University. During World War I he held a commission in the Norfolk Regiment. His first novel was Simonetta Perkins (1925), followed by a collection of stories, The Killing Bottle (1932). Other novels include The Boat (1949), My Fellow Devils (1951), A Perfect Woman (1955), The Brickfield (1964), and My Sister's Keeper (1970). The Complete Short Stories was published in 1973.