Books by Claire Tomalin
“Tomalin’s is still my favourite among all Austen biographies. It shows us, in the context of crucial family, literary, and social context, that Austen was tough; that she was unafraid; that she was in an environment of difficulty and distress – even crisis – through parts of her life.” Read more...
Devoney Looser, Literary Scholar
“She is such a good biographer. I would read anything by her. She’s so intelligent. She is sympathetic to him but she is not blind to him. She gets his energy, his ferocity. He could be callous. People always say, ‘Oh, he was horrible to his wife.’ Well he was. He chucked her out of the family home when the youngest child was only 6. He said she was a terrible mother, but we have no evidence of that, at all. So he did behave badly. I’m afraid that when marriages break down, people do.She writes about his whole life brilliantly.” Read more...
The Best Charles Dickens Books
Jenny Hartley, Biographer
Interviews where books by Claire Tomalin were recommended
The Best Charles Dickens Books, recommended by Jenny Hartley
He was the most popular novelist of the Victorian era, a convivial family man who always championed the underdog. But he also harboured dark secrets that only came out after his death. Jenny Hartley recommends the best books by and about Charles Dickens and discusses Dickens the phenomenon, past and present.
The Alternative Jane Austen, recommended by Devoney Looser
Thanks to her ability to be many things to many people at once, Jane Austen is one of the vast minority of writers who manage to be both eternally popular and canonical. Here, Austen scholar Devoney ‘Stone Cold Jane’ Looser presents alternative Austens, from subversive youngster to video-game heroine
The Best Jane Austen Books, recommended by Patricia Meyer Spacks
Jane Austen was a British novelist who died in 1817 at the age of just 41, but whose books have stood the test of time. In the 21st century, her novels continue to be not only studied in school but also read for pleasure. We asked the distinguished Austen scholar Patricia Meyer Spacks to talk us through the best Jane Austen novels and explain what it is that makes them special.
