My former partner Christopher Hood, who has died aged 80, had five comic novels published between 1979 and 1990, including The Other Side of the Mountain (1979), which was shortlisted for the 1980 National Book award. He also wrote the TV film Pleasure, which starred Jennifer Ehle and Adrian Dunbar and was shown on Channel 4 in 1994.
However, despite having a degree of success as a writer, Chris became dispirited by the publishing industry’s lack of care for mid-level authors, and he stopped writing novels in his 50s, around the time he stopped drinking. He never regretted either decision.
