Claire Harman

Claire Harman is a British writer and biographer, known for her works on Sylvia Plath, Fanny Burney, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Her writing often explores the lives of famous authors, such as Virginia Woolf, E.M. Forster, and D.H. Lawrence. Harman's biographies have been praised for their meticulous research and insightful analysis, drawing on the works of T.S. Eliot, James Joyce, and George Orwell. She has also written about the Brontë sisters, Jane Austen, and Mary Shelley.

● Early Life and Education

Claire Harman was born in London, England, and grew up in a family of University of Oxford academics. She was educated at St Hilda's College, Oxford, where she studied English literature under the tutelage of Helen Gardner and Frank Kermode. Harman's early interests in literature were influenced by the works of William Shakespeare, John Milton, and Alexander Pope. She also developed a passion for the Romantic movement, particularly the works of William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Lord Byron.

● Career

Harman began her career as a writer and critic, contributing to publications such as The Times Literary Supplement, The London Review of Books, and The Guardian. She has also written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Paris Review. Her work has been influenced by the criticism of F.R. Leavis, William Empson, and Raymond Williams. Harman has taught at University College London, Birkbeck, University of London, and Goldsmiths, University of London, where she has lectured on the works of Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, and Joseph Conrad.

● Literary Works

Claire Harman's literary works include biographies of Sylvia Plath, Fanny Burney, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Her biography of Sylvia Plath explores the poet's life and work, including her relationships with Ted Hughes and Assia Wevill. Harman's biography of Fanny Burney examines the novelist's life and career, including her connections to Samuel Johnson and Hester Thrale. Her biography of Robert Louis Stevenson discusses the author's life and works, including Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Harman has also written about the lives of Oscar Wilde, George Eliot, and Elizabeth Gaskell.

● Awards and Recognition

Claire Harman's work has been recognized with several awards and nominations, including the Whitbread Book Award and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Her biography of Sylvia Plath was shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Harman has also received fellowships from the British Academy and the Royal Society of Literature. Her work has been praised by critics such as Hilary Mantel, Zadie Smith, and Ian McEwan.

● Personal Life

Claire Harman lives in London and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She has been involved in various literary organizations, including the Society of Authors and the English PEN. Harman has also been a judge for the Man Booker Prize and the Costa Book Award. Her interests include the works of Toni Morrison, Don DeLillo, and Margaret Atwood, as well as the Harlem Renaissance and the Beat Generation. Harman has also written about the lives of Doris Lessing, Muriel Spark, and Iris Murdoch. Category:British writers