Published to coincide with the Oxford Dictionary of National
Biography, biographers reveal all - what they do, why they do it
and how they do it. Andrew Wilson on Patricia Highsmith explains
the labour involved, years of trawling through census forms and old
telephone directories. Several writers emphasise the jealousy and
rivalry of the profession. Frances Wilson's piece on 'the madness
of biographical love' is hilarious. Biographers 'venerate the very
shoelaces their subject wore'. They also live in fear of writs for
libel, spend months getting signed consent forms and are wary of
re-opening old wounds for the living. Some unearth a treasure trove
of letters; others struggle to find primary sources. Nearly all
battle with the extent to which they should use their imagination
and impose coherence on the material. But there are compensations.
Hermione Lee, trailing Edith Wharton embarked on 'wonderful
journeys'. Antonia Fraser on Mary Queen of Scots enjoyed visiting
'every conceivable castle, quagmire and byre'. - A riveting
collection of essays for biography fans. (Kirkus UK)
Biography is well recognised as a peculiarly British vice. Lives
for Sale is an anthology of essays by some of the best biographers
now writing in Britain. They tell of the ups and downs of life
writing: of problems with families and friends of their subjects,
of shocking new discoveries, and of bitter professional rivalries.
There are impassioned pieces in favour of biography, and others
that describe disenchantment with an attempt to capture another
human being in the pages of a book. Published in the autumn of 2004
to coincide with the appearance of the most important British
publishing enterprise of the new century to date, the new Oxford
Dictionary of National Biography, Lives for Sale is full of amusing
anecdotes and fascinating experiences retold by some of the masters
of the form, including Michael Holroyd, Fiona MacCarthy, Graham
Robb, Andrew Roberts, Hermione Lee, Margaret Forster, Jenny Uglow,
Antonia Fraser, as well as contributions from the rising
generation, and an essay by Beryl Bainbridge on Waiting for the
Biographer.
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