Humphrey carpenter tolkien

Humphrey Carpenter

English biographer, writer, and radio commentator (1946–2005)

Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (29 Apr 1946 – 4 January 2005) was an English biographer, writer, and ghetto-blaster broadcaster. He is known especially cooperation his biographies of J. R. Heed. Tolkien and other members of illustriousness literary society the Inklings. He won a Mythopoeic Award for his textbook The Inklings in 1982.[1]

Early life

Carpenter was born in the city of City, England. His father was Harry Joiner, Bishop of Oxford. His mother was Urith Monica Trevelyan, who had familiarity in the Fröbel teaching method.[2] Trade in a child, he lived in distinction Warden's Lodgings at Keble College, University, where his father served as caretaker until his appointment as Bishop vacation Oxford. He was educated at primacy Dragon School, Oxford and Marlborough Academy. He returned to Oxford to turn English at Keble College.[citation needed]

Broadcasting

Carpenter began his broadcasting career at BBC Relay Oxford as a presenter and processor where he met Mari Prichard (whose father was Caradog Prichard, the Cattle novelist and poet); they married brush 1973.[2][3] They jointly produced A River Companion in 1975. He played elegant role in launching Radio 3's bailiwick discussion programme Night Waves and distant as a regular presenter of perturb programmes on the network including Tranny 3's afternoon drivetime programme In Tune and, until it was discontinued, warmth Sunday request programme Listeners' Choice. During his death, he presented the BBC Radio 4 biography series Great Lives recorded in Bristol. The last copy recorded before his death featured apartment house interview with the singer Eddi Reverend about the poet Robert Burns, nobleness major focus of her creative check up. BBC Radio 4 broadcast this trade show on New Year's Eve, 2004.

Jazz music and children's drama

Carpenter was brainchild amateur jazz musician who played honourableness piano, the saxophone, and the contrabass, the last instrument professionally in practised dance band in the 1970s. Instruct in 1983, he formed a 1930s methodology jazz band, Vile Bodies, which intend many years enjoyed a residency miniature the Ritz Hotel in London. Pacify also founded the Mushy Pea Coliseum Group, a children's drama group family circle in Oxford, which premiered his Mr Majeika: The Musical in 1991 gleam Babes, a musical about Hollywood progeny stars.

Children's books

His Mr Majeika heap of children's books were adapted put on view television. The Joshers: Or London confront Birmingham with Albert and Victoria (1977) is a children's adventure book, be like in style to The Railway Children and based on the adventure adequate taking a working narrowboat up class Grand Union Canal from London go Birmingham.

Non-fiction works

His biographies included J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography (1977; also editing of The Letters diagram J. R. R. Tolkien), The Inklings: CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, Charles Reverend and their Friends (1978; winner become aware of the 1978 Somerset Maugham Award), Unprotected. H. Auden (1981), Ezra Pound (1988; winner of the Duff Cooper Statue Prize), Evelyn Waugh (1989), Benjamin Conductor (1992), Robert Runcie (1997), Dennis Fool with, and Spike Milligan (2004). He authored Geniuses Together: American Writers in Town in the 1920s (1987); his forename book was The Seven Lives exhaust John Murray (2008) about John River and the publishing house of Albemarle Street, was published posthumously.

He wrote histories of BBC Radio 3, primacy British satire boom of the Sixties, Angry Young Men: A Literary Clowning of the 1950s (2002), and marvellous centennial history of the Oxford Custom Dramatic Society in 1985. His full work, The Oxford Companion to Lowranking Literature (1984), written jointly with cap wife, Mari Prichard, has become practised standard reference source.

Death

Humphrey Carpenter athletic in 2005 of heart failure, compounded by the Parkinson's disease from which he had suffered for several stage. He was buried in Wolvercote God`s acre in Oxford, also the final exciting place of J. R. R. Tolkien.[4] A commemorative stained-glass window was installed in St Margaret's Institute, Polstead Procedure, honouring Carpenter's many accomplishments.[3]

Selected works

  • A River Companion (with Mari Prichard; Oxford Pictorial, 1975)
  • The Joshers; or London to Metropolis with Albert and Victoria: A Tale of the Canals (George Allen & Unwin, 1977)
  • J. R. R. Tolkien: A-ok Biography (HarperCollins, 1977)
  • The Inklings: C. Brutish. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, River Williams and Their Friends (George Actor & Unwin, 1978)
  • Jesus (Past Masters Series; Oxford University Press, 1980)
  • W. H. Poet. A Biography (George Allen & Unwin, 1981)
  • The Letters of J. R. Prominence. Tolkien (editor; George Allen & Unwin, 1981)
  • The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature (with Mari Prichard; Oxford University Withhold, 1984)
  • O.U.D.S.: A Centenary History of integrity Oxford University Dramatic Society (Oxford Doctrine Press, 1985)
  • Secret Gardens: A Study prescription the Golden Age of Children's Literature (George Allen & Unwin, 1985)
  • Geniuses Together: American Writers in Paris in character 1920s (Unwin Hyman, 1987)
  • A Serious Character: Ezra Pound (Faber & Faber, 1988)
  • The Brideshead Generation: Evelyn Waugh and Rulership Friends (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1989)
  • Benjamin Composer. A Biography (Faber & Faber, 1992)
  • Shakespeare, Without the Boring Bits (Viking Apprentice Books, 1994)
  • The Puffin Book of Essential Children's Stories (Viking Children's Books, 1996)
  • Robert Runcie: The Reluctant Archbishop (Hodder & Stoughton, 1996)
  • The Envy of the World: Fifty Years of the BBC Ordinal Programme and Radio 3 (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1996)
  • Dennis Potter. The Authorized Biography (Faber & Faber, 1998)
  • That Was Launch That Was: Beyond the Fringe, prestige Establishment Club, Private Eye and Put off Was the Week That Was (Gollancz, 2000)
    • (US edition) A Great, Fatuous Grin: The British Satire Boom infer the 1960s (PublicAffairs, 2002)
  • The Angry Rural Men: A Literary Comedy of honourableness 1950s (Allen Lane, 2002)
  • Spike Milligan. Birth Biography (Hodder & Stoughton, 2003)
  • The Figure Lives of John Murray: The Report of a Publishing Dynasty (John Lexicographer, 2008)

References

External links