Sylvia Jukes Morris (May 24, 1935 – January 5, 2020) was a British-born
biographer, based in the United States. She was married to writer
Edmund Morris.
Education and early career
Morris was born in
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and educated at
Dudley Girl's Grammar School and
London University
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...
. She taught history and English literature in London before marrying Edmund Morris in 1966 and emigrating to the U.S. two years later. After a period of freelance travel and food writing, she published ''Edith Kermit Roosevelt: Portrait of a First Lady'', the first-book-length biography of
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
's
second wife, in 1980; the book was based on hitherto private family documents. Reviews were positive; Annalyn Swan in ''Newsweek'' called it "marvelously full-blooded
ndengagingly written." ''
The Christian Science Monitor
''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...
'' said the book represented "craftsmanship of the highest order," and
R. W. B. Lewis
Richard Warrington Baldwin Lewis (November 1, 1917 - June 13, 2002) was an American literary scholar and critic. He gained a wider reputation when he won a 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, the first National Book Critics Circle ...
in ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
Book World'', called it "an endlessly engrossing book, at once of historical and human importance." The
Modern Library
The Modern Library is an American book publishing imprint and formerly the parent company of Random House. Founded in 1917 by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright as an imprint of their publishing company Boni & Liveright, Modern Library became an ...
reissued the biography in the fall of 2001.
Biographer of Clare Boothe Luce
In 1981, Morris became the authorized biographer of
Clare Boothe Luce
Clare Boothe Luce ( Ann Clare Boothe; March 10, 1903 – October 9, 1987) was an American writer, politician, U.S. ambassador, and public conservative figure. A versatile author, she is best known for her 1936 hit play '' The Women'', which h ...
(1903–1987), the playwright, congresswoman and diplomat. In 1997 she published the first volume of Luce's biography, ''Rage for Fame: The Ascent of Clare Boothe Luce''.
Gore Vidal described it in ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' as "a model biography . . . of the sort that only real writers can write." Karen Heller commented in ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
'', "In this marvelous volume, Sylvia Jukes Morris has not just amassed information, but distilled it. The result is a portrait that is powerful and resonant."
Judith Martin disagreed in ''
The New York Times Book Review
''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...
'', criticizing the book's "barrage of anecdotes" and writing, "
e stories keep pouring forth without relief." Martin wrote that Morris's approach was "like being on confidential terms with someone who hates her boss." The ''Times'' named ''Rage for Fame'' a "Notable Book" for 1997.
Seventeen years after the publication of ''Rage for Fame,'' Morris published the second volume of the biography, ''Price of Fame: The Honorable Clare Boothe Luce'', in 2014. Reviews were mixed. In ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'',
Edward Kosner
Edward Kosner (born July 26, 1937)Marquis Who's Who is an American journalist and author who served as the top editor of ''Newsweek'', ''New York'' and ''Esquire'' magazines and the ''New York Daily News''. He is the author of a memoir, ''It's Ne ...
called Morris's effort "stellar"; ''
Kirkus Reviews
''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
'' characterized it as an "evenhanded and intimate portrait." However, in ''
National Review''
Florence King
Florence Virginia King (January 5, 1936 – January 6, 2016) was an American novelist, essayist and columnist.
While her early writings focused on the American South and those who live there, much of King's later work was published in ''Natio ...
called the 752-page volume "an exhausting door-stopper." Noting that Luce had left all of her papers—totaling 460,000 items—to the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
, King wrote, "I get the distinct feeling that Clare terrorized Morris into using every single thing in the archive." King found Morris's approach "maniacally exacting" and, after enumerating examples that the author had afforded of Luce's clothing, jewelry, perfume, and party guests, wrote, "This is where your reviewer yelled ''SO WHAT!''" "Morris is not great at stepping back and analyzing," wrote
Maureen Dowd
Maureen Brigid Dowd (; born January 14, 1952) is an American columnist for ''The New York Times'' and an author.
During the 1970s and early 1980s, Dowd worked for ''The Washington Star'' and ''Time'', writing news, sports and feature articles. ...
in ''
The New York Times Book Review
''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...
''. "She just methodically piles up the facts."
Other work
Morris's miscellaneous articles and reviews have appeared in ''
The New York Times Magazine
''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...
'', ''
Travel & Leisure
''Travel + Leisure'' is a travel magazine based in New York City, New York. Published 12 times a year, it has 4.8 million readers, according to its corporate media kit. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC, with trademark rig ...
'', and ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''. She has served as a judge for the
National Book Awards
The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors.
The Nat ...
and lectured at the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
, the
National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to:
*National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra
*National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred
*National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C.
*National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...
and the
Newseum of
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, as well as the
New York Society Library
The New York Society Library (NYSL) is the oldest cultural institution in New York City. It was founded in 1754 by the New York Society as a subscription library. During the time when New York was the capital of the United States, it was the de ...
, the
Chicago Humanities Festival
The Chicago Humanities Festival is a non-profit organization which hosts an annual series of lectures, concerts, and films in Chicago. There are two seasons each year, including a spring festival from April through May, and a longer fall festival ...
, the
Miami Book Fair
The Miami Book Fair is an annual two-day street fair and literary festival organized by Miami Dade College.
The fair brings over 300 national and international authors exhibitors to a weeklong gathering and includes pavilions for translation, ...
, the
Palm Beach Junior League and the
University of Delaware
The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...
. Her television credits include appearances on ''
The American Experience
''American Experience'' is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American his ...
'',
C-SPAN
Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...
, the
History Channel and a transatlantic literary symposium presented by the ''
Paris Review
''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Philip ...
'' and the
English-Speaking Union
The English-Speaking Union (ESU) is an international educational membership organistation. Founded by the journalist Sir Evelyn Wrench in 1918, it aims to bring together and empower people of different languages and cultures, by building skill ...
.
References
Library of Congress Bookfest biographyRandom House biography
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Sylvia Jukes
1935 births
2020 deaths
Alumni of the University of London
English biographers
British emigrants to the United States