Alan Holmes Dent (7 January 1905 – 19 December 1978) was a Scottish journalist, editor and writer.

Early life

Alan Dent was born in

Maybole, Ayrshire Maybole is a town and former burgh of barony and police burgh in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It had an estimated population of in . It is situated south of Ayr and southwest of Glasgow by the Glasgow and South Western Railway. The town is bypass ...

, Scotland, of English parents. He lost his mother when he was two years old. He was educated at

Carrick Academy Carrick Academy is a state-run secondary school, administered by South Ayrshire Council and situated in Maybole, South Ayrshire. It serves about 550 pupils, from the town of Maybole and the villages of Dalrymple, Crosshill, Kirkmichael, Straiton ...

and

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, where he began to study medicine at the age of 16, but later switched to French, English and Italian. He left the university without a degree in 1926 heading for London.

Career

Dent approached the critic

James Agate James Evershed Agate (9 September 1877 – 6 June 1947) was an English diarist and theatre critic between the two world wars. He took up journalism in his late twenties and was on the staff of ''The Manchester Guardian'' in 1907–1914. He later ...

in the hope of becoming his secretary, and was appointed. He remained with Agate for 14 years. Later, in Agate's ''Ego'' volumes of diaries and letters, Dent was, according to

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Brit ...

, called "Jock". During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Dent served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

. Later he was the London drama critic of the '' Manchester Guardian'' and the ''

News Chronicle The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the ''Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 be ...

''. He became the film critic of the ''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication i ...

'' and broadcast for the BBC's European Service. He edited the letters of Mrs Campbell and Bernard Shaw. He was text editor and advisor to Laurence Olivier for his three Shakespeare films as star and director: ''

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...

'' (1944), ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' (1948), and '' Richard III'' (1955).

Death

Dent died at his home in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, on 19 December 1978, aged 73.

Selected publications

*''Nocturnes and rhapsodies''. Hamish Hamilton, London, 1950. *''Bernard Shaw and Mrs. Patrick Campbell: Their correspondence.'' Victor Gollancz, London, 1952. (editor) *''My dear America''. Arthur Barker, London, 1954. *''Mrs. Patrick Campbell''. Museum Press, London, 1961. *''How well do you know your Shakespeare? Forty sets of questions and answers''. Macdonald, London. 1964. *''Burns in his time''. Nelson, London, 1966. *''Vivien Leigh: A bouquet''. Hamish Hamilton, London, 1969. *''My Covent Garden''. J.M. Dent, London, 1973. *''World of Shakespeare'' series - multiple volumes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dent, Alan 1905 births 1978 deaths People educated at Carrick Academy Scottish film critics Scottish journalists Scottish non-fiction writers Royal Navy personnel of World War II Scottish people of English descent Presidents of the Critics' Circle