The son of a scrapyard dealer, Richler was born and raised on St. Urbain Street. Richler enrolled in Sir George Williams University (now Concordia University) to study English but dropped out before completing his degree. He moved to Paris at age 19 and lived there for several years before moving to London, England. He returned to Montreal in 1972.

Richler’s career took off with the publication of The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz in 1959. Throughout his career, Richler wrote acerbic journalistic commentary. His work was championed by journalists Robert Fulford and Peter Gzowski, but detractors called Richler’s satire heavy handed and noted his propensity for recycling material.

Among Richler’s many awards and honours was a 1990 Commonwealth Writers Prize. Richler was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2001, just a few months before his death.

Richler raised five children with his wife Florence. He dies in 2001.

Books by Mordecai Richler

Broadsides

Oh Canada ! Oh Quebec!

Solomon Gursky was Here

This Year in Jerusalem

Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, The

Joshua Then and Now

Barney's Version

Language
Nationality
Birthdate
Birthplace
Date of death