Paula Jayne Byrne, Lady Bate, (born 2 August 1967), is a British biographer, novelist, and literary critic.
Life
Byrne has a
PhD in English Literature from the
University of Liverpool
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
, where she also studied for her MA, having completed a BA in English and Theology at West Sussex Institute of Higher Education (now
Chichester University
, mottoeng = By teaching, we learn
, type = public university, Public
, established = 2005
, administrative_staff = 600
, vice_chancellor = Jane Longmore
, city = Chichester, West Sussex
, country ...
).
Byrne is the founder and chief executive of a small charitable foundation, ReLit: The Bibliotherapy Foundation, dedicated to the promotion of literature as a complementary therapy in the toolkit of medical practitioners dealing with stress, anxiety and other mental health conditions.
Byrne, who is from a large working-class Roman Catholic family in Birkenhead, is married to Sir
Jonathan Bate
Sir Andrew Jonathan Bate, CBE, FBA, FRSL (born 26 June 1958), is a British academic, biographer, critic, broadcaster, poet, playwright, novelist and scholar. He specialises in Shakespeare, Romanticism and Ecocriticism. He is Foundation Profes ...
,
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
scholar and former
Provost of
Worcester College, Oxford.
Career
Paula Byrne's debut book was the study of
Jane Austen, ''Jane Austen and the Theatre'', which was published in 2002 by Hambledon and shortlisted for the
Theatre Book Prize. An updated version, with a new chapter on stage and film adaptations of Austen, was announced for publication by
HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News ...
in 2017, with the new title ''The Genius of Jane Austen: her love of theatre and why she is a hit in Hollywood''.
In 2005 Byrne's biography ''Perdita: The Life of Mary Robinson'' was featured on the
Richard & Judy Book Club
''Richard & Judy'' (also known as ''Richard & Judy's New Position'') is a British television chat show presented by the married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. The show originally aired on Channel 4 from 26 November 2001 to 22 Augus ...
on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
, propelling it into the
Sunday Times bestseller list. It was long listed for the
Samuel Johnson Prize
The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, formerly the Samuel Johnson Prize, is an annual British book prize for the best non-fiction writing in the English language. It was founded in 1999 following the demise of the NCR Book Award. With its ...
and contributed to a revival of interest in the work of
Mary Robinson
Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...
as actor, poet, novelist and proponent of women's rights.
Her book ''Mad World: Evelyn Waugh and the Secrets of Brideshead'', another top ten bestseller, was published by HarperPress in the UK in August 2009 and HarperCollins New York in the USA in April 2010. An excerpt was published in the ''Sunday Times'' of 9 August under the headline "Sex scandal behind
Brideshead Revisited
''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of the protagonist Charles ...
". An illustrated extract appeared in the April 2010 issue of ''
Vanity Fair'' in advance of American publication. The book's sympathetic view of
Waugh's character contrasted with the popular image of him.
In a television programme broadcast on
BBC2 on Boxing Day 2011 she explored the possibility that a Regency graphite on vellum drawing, labelled on the verso 'Miss Jane Austin', might be an authentic portrait of Jane Austen. The film presented forensic and art historical evidence that the work was authentic to the period, not a forgery, but the case for its being Austen was fiercely debated, both in the programme and subsequently in 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 ...
''. Byrne lent the drawing to
Jane Austen's House Museum in Chawton, where it was exhibited from summer 2012.
In January 2013, coinciding with the bicentenary of the first publication of ''
Pride and Prejudice'', Byrne published a new biography called ''
The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things''. Featured as
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
Book of the Week, and again a ''Sunday Times'' top ten bestseller, it approaches the subject's life by means of an array of key objects, including her portable writing desk and the topaz cross given to her by her brother. Austen was presented as a more worldly figure than is often thought, more engaged with city life, but above all as a highly professional writer.
In 2014, Byrne published a biography of
Dido Elizabeth Belle
Dido Elizabeth Belle (June 1761 – July 1804) was a British heiress and a member of the Lindsay family of Evelix. She was born into slavery and illegitimate; her mother, Maria Belle, was an enslaved African woman in the British West Indies. He ...
, which was a commission to coincide with the general release of the motion picture ''
Belle''. Since few facts are known about Dido, the book set her life in the broader context of women and slavery in the late eighteenth century. It became a ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' top ten bestseller.
Her 2016 biography, ''Kick'', the story of
Kathleen Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington
Kathleen Agnes Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington (' Kennedy; February 20, 1920 – May 13, 1948), also known as "Kick" Kennedy, was an American socialite. She was the second daughter of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Kennedy as well as a si ...
(1920–1948),
John F Kennedy's sister, and her marriage to Billy,
William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington
William John Robert Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington (10 December 1917 – 9 September 1944) was a British politician and British Army officer. He was the elder son of Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire, and therefore the heir to the du ...
, drew on letters and diaries from the
Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy
Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald Kennedy (July 22, 1890 – January 22, 1995) was an American philanthropist, socialite, and matriarch of the Kennedy family. She was deeply embedded in the " lace curtain" Irish American community in Boston. Her fathe ...
archive in the
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and museum of John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917–1963), the 35th president of the United States (1961–1963). It is located on Columbia Point in the Dorchester neighb ...
and the Devonshire family papers at
Chatsworth House. It was an international bestseller, achieving particular success in the Kennedy's ancestral homeland of Ireland.
She subsequently published two novels, one of which was based on the life of
Marlene Dietrich
Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...
. In 2021, she returned to biography with the widely-acclaimed ''The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym''. Based on the archive of
Barbara Pym
Barbara Mary Crampton Pym FRSL (2 June 1913 – 11 January 1980) was an English novelist. In the 1950s she published a series of social comedies, of which the best known are ''Excellent Women'' (1952) and '' A Glass of Blessings'' (1958). In 1977 ...
in the
Bodleian Library, it revealed many surprising aspects of the life of the English novelist, including a brief love affair with a Nazi SS officer prior to the Second World War.
Bibliography
As author:
* ''Jane Austen and the Theatre'' (Hambledon / Continuum / Bloomsbury Academic, 2002).
* ''Perdita: The Life of Mary Robinson'' (Harper Perennial, 2004).
* ''Mad World: Evelyn Waugh and the Secrets of Brideshead'' (HarperPress, 2009).
* ''The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things'' (William Collins, 2013).
* ''Belle: The True Story of Dido Belle'' (William Collins, 2014).
* ''Kick: The True Story of JFK's Forgotten Sister and the Heir to Chatsworth'' (William Collins, 2016).
* ''The Genius of Jane Austen: Her Love of Theatre and Why She Is a Hit in Hollywood'' (William Collins, 2017).
* ''Look to your Wife''
iction(William Collins, 2018).
* ''Mirror Mirror''
iction(William Collins, 2020).
* ''The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym'' (William Collins, 2021).
As editor:
* ''Jane Austen's Emma: A Sourcebook (Routledge, 2004).
* ''Stressed, Unstressed: Classic Poems to Ease the Mind'', (Jonathan Bate, co-editor) (William Collins, 2016).
References
External links
Official website of authorRoutledge Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Paula
1967 births
Academics of the University of Warwick
Alumni of the University of Liverpool
British biographers
British literary critics
British women literary critics
British feminist writers
Living people
21st-century British non-fiction writers
21st-century British women writers
British women biographers
21st-century biographers
Wives of knights