Facts and Fiction is a captivating collection of pieces about the art of narration by Britain’s finest biographer.
Michael Holroyd reflects on the eccentricities of the art of writing about others. With characteristic playfulness, he considers the ways in which lives can be written about (and painted), with all the subtle differences of design and intention that this entails.
From Kipling to forgetfulness, Princess Diana’s butler Paul Burrell to fellow biographers like Richard Holmes and the fathers of British biography, Boswell and Johnson, Holroyd tackles a rich and vibrant array of topics. He discusses his life at the mercy of subjects who have led him all over the world – and often into other people’s families uninvited. With wit, warmth and humour, he reflects on the unlikely ways he arrives at his subjects, and how the process of building their narratives is often a disturbing experience: so consuming that, when completed, he feels as if he has had a holiday from himself.
Featuring writing originally published in the TLS, the Guardian, the Telegraph and elsewhere, Facts and Fiction provides unique insight into the mind of a master.
Lives and Letters
Most people do not encourage members of their family to become biographers. There is no telling what trouble they will get into. If you write fiction any member of your family who appears on the...
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