Alexander Larman (born 29 November 1981) is a British author, journalist, historian, and literary editor of The Spectator World. A writer of multiple historical biographies, including those of

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1 April 1647 – 26 July 1680) was an English poet and courtier of King Charles II's Restoration court. The Restoration reacted against the "spiritual authoritarianism" of the Puritan era. Rochester embodi ...

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

and Edward VIII, he is also a regular contributor to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'', ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'', ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'', the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British Political magazine, political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney Webb, Sidney and Beatrice ...

'', and ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

''.

Career

His first book, ''Blazing Star: The Life and Times of

'', was published in 2014, and led to a public dispute with the historian Cliff Davies. His second book, ''Restoration'', a social history of the year

1666 This is the first year to be designated as an ''Annus mirabilis'', in John Dryden's 1667 poem so titled, celebrating England's failure to be beaten either by the Dutch or by fire. It is the only year to contain each Roman numeral once in d ...

, was published in 2016. His third, '' Byron’s Women'', came out in 2016 and was shortlisted for the Elma Dangerfield Prize. Larman is literary editor of ''

The Chap ''The Chap'' is a British humorous men's lifestyle magazine published quarterly. It was founded in 1999 by Gustav Temple and Vic Darkwood, and is still edited by Temple. The magazine proposes that men everywhere return to a more gentlemanly wa ...

'' magazine, and has been producing a compilation of historical biographies for them since 2017, titled ''The Rakes Progress''. His fourth book, ''The Crown In Crisis: Countdown to the Abdication'', an account of the

Edward VIII abdication crisis In early December 1936, a constitutional crisis in the British Empire arose when King-Emperor Edward VIII proposed to marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who was divorced from her first husband and was pursuing the divorce of her second ...

of 1936, was published by

Weidenfeld & Nicolson Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd (established 1949), often shortened to W&N or Weidenfeld, is a British publisher of fiction and reference books. It has been a division of the French-owned Orion Publishing Group since 1991. History George Weidenfeld a ...

in 2020. It attracted significant global media attention due to Larman's discovery of new documents relating to the July 1936 assassination attempt on Edward VIII by George McMahon. His next two books, ''The Windsors at War: The Nazi Threat to the Crown'' and ''Power and Glory: the Era of Elizabeth'' will focus on the Royal Family between Edward VIII's abdication and the

Coronation of Elizabeth II The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive ...

, and will be published in March 2023 and spring 2024.

Reception

Writing in ''The Times'', Matthew Denison writes, of ''Blazing Star'', that "Larman is at pains to rescue his subject from his status as one-dimensional bad boy ... He mostly succeeds," praising the book as "engagingly partisan and elegantly informative." In ''The Guardian'', Ian Thomson states that though "The biography is not without its faults ... Larman takes us through the high adventure of Rochester's life and loves" and "paints a picture of a great poet who flared brightly before burning out." Writing on ''Restoration'', Ben East (also for ''The Guardian'') similarly concludes that though it "perhaps lacks the depth that the period requires ... tis an accessible snapshot of Restoration England, which manages to give labourers and royalty equal billing." Claire Kohnda Hazelton, in ''The Observer'', noted that in ''Byron's Women'' "Larman explores not only each woman’s relationship with

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

but her ambitions, achievements and passions. Larman also sheds light upon Byron’s violent nature." She concludes that "This is no ordinary biography; through exploring the lives of the women in his life and the impressions he left upon them, we are offered an outline of Byron’s person, arguably more accurate, compelling and candid than any portrait focused on him and his poetry could be."

Roger Lewis Roger Lewis (born 26 February 1960) is a Welsh academic, biographer and journalist. Biography Lewis was raised in Bedwas, Monmouthshire, and educated at Bassaleg School in Newport. He then attended the University of St Andrews, graduating MA, ...

wrote in ''The Times'' that 'It isn’t a tiresome feminist rant, as from a pushy university lecturer, it is humane and brooks no balderdash. This radical questioning of the conventional swashbuckling Byronic stance is convincing.' ''The Crown in Crisis'' received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews and was the ''Times'' Book of the Week, later being highlighted by them as one of the best books of the summer, and finally as one of their best books of 2020 overall. Moira Hodgson wrote in the ''Wall Street Journal'' that 'Mr. Larman brings his cast of characters vividly to life in a fast-paced, lively staging of the drama. It’s as much fun to read as a good political thriller.'

David Aaronovitch David Morris Aaronovitch (born 8 July 1954) is an English journalist, television presenter and author. He is a regular columnist for ''The Times'' and the author of ''Paddling to Jerusalem: An Aquatic Tour of Our Small Country'' (2000), ''Voodoo ...

described Larman as 'amiable and talented' and the book as 'always interesting'.

Kathryn Hughes Kathryn Hughes (born 1959) is a British academic, journalist and biographer. Educated at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University and the University of East Anglia (UEA); her doctorate in Victorian history

, writing in ''The Guardian'', named ''The Crown in Crisis'' as ''The Guardians Book of the Day, noting that Larman "doesn’t go in for startling revisions, but instead makes use of the new sources and interpretive lenses that have become available in the intervening four decades" and that he "shows a delicate touch too in not banging home the obvious contemporary resonances." Eva Waite-Taylor, in the ''Independent'', wrote that "it's an engaging, detailed, and suspenseful read; one that is equal parts empathetic and entertaining. You will be gripped." And Hephzibah Anderson described the book in ''The Observer'' as 'An enduringly relevant chapter of British history, brought to life with panache', and praised its 'impressive suspense.'

Personal life

Larman attended

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...

and

Regent's Park College, Oxford Regent's Park College (known colloquially within the university as Regent's) is a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford, situated in central Oxford, just off St Giles'. Founded in 1810, the college moved to its present site in ...

, where he read English and graduated with a First. His father-in-law was the

Stirling Prize The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The S ...

award-winning architect

Will Alsop William Allen Alsop (12 December 1947 – 12 May 2018) was a British architect and Professor of Architecture at University for the Creative Arts's Canterbury School of Architecture. He was responsible for several distinctive and controversia ...

.Hopkirk, Elizabet
Will Alsop Dies Aged 70
Building, 14 May 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larman, Alexander Living people British historians People educated at Winchester College Alumni of Regent's Park College, Oxford 1981 births