Karl Fergus Connor Miller FRSL (2 August 1931 – 24 September 2014) was a Scottish

literary editor A literary editor is an editor in a newspaper, magazine or similar publication who deals with aspects concerning literature and books, especially reviews.

, critic and writer. Miller was born in the village of

Loanhead Loanhead is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, in a commuter belt to the south of Edinburgh, and close to Roslin, Bonnyrigg and Dalkeith. The town was built on coal and oil shale mining, and the paper industries. History Loanhead was a tiny vil ...

, Midlothian, and was educated at the Royal High School of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

and Downing College, Cambridge, where he studied English; he was a

Cambridge Apostle The Cambridge Apostles (also known as ''Conversazione Society'') is an intellectual society at the University of Cambridge founded in 1820 by George Tomlinson, a Cambridge student who became the first Bishop of Gibraltar.W. C. Lubenow, ''The ...

. He became literary editor of ''

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 ...

'' and 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 ...

''. Miller resigned from the latter over a disagreement with the magazine's editor Paul Johnson, over the extent to which the literary pages treated difficult subjects and also Johnson's disapproval of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

and their fans. He was then editor of '' The Listener'' (1967–73) and subsequently of the '' London Review of Books'', which he founded, from 1979 to 1992. He was also Lord Northcliffe Professor of Modern English Literature and head of the English Department at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

from 1974 to 1992. Miller died on 24 September 2014, at the age of 83.

Works

* ''Poetry from Cambridge 1952–4''. Oxford, 1955 (editor) * ''Writing in England Today: the last fifteen years''. London: Penguin, 1968 (editor) * ''Memoirs of a Modern Scotland''. London: Faber, 1970 (editor) * ''Cockburn's Millennium''. London: Duckworth, 1975 (a biography of Henry Cockburn, which won Miller the

James Tait Black Memorial Prize The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Uni ...

) * ''Doubles: Studies in Literary History''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985 (criticism) * ''Authors''. Oxford: Clarendon, 1989 * ''Rebecca's Vest: a memoir''. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1993 * ''Boswell and Hyde''. London: Syrens, 1995 * ''Dark Horses: an experience of literary journalism''. London: Picador, 1998 (memoir) * ''

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

in conversation with Karl Miller''. London: BTL, 2000 * ''Electric Shepherd: a likeness of

James Hogg James Hogg (1770 – 21 November 1835) was a Scottish poet, novelist and essayist who wrote in both Scots and English. As a young man he worked as a shepherd and farmhand, and was largely self-educated through reading. He was a friend of many ...

''. London: Faber, 2003 (biography) * ''Tretower to Clyro: essays''. London: Quercus, 2011

References

External links

Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
Emory University
Karl Miller papers, 1949–2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Karl 1931 births 2014 deaths Academics of University College London Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge People from Midlothian Scottish biographers British biographers British male journalists British magazine editors People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Scottish essayists Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature British literary editors James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients British male essayists New Statesman people Male biographers