Hermione Eyre (born 1980) is a British journalist, novelist, and former child actor.

Early life

Hermione Eyre was born in 1980. Her parents were Sir

Reginald Eyre Sir Reginald Edwin Eyre (28 May 1924 – 27 January 2019) was a British Conservative Party politician. Early life and career Son of Edwin Eyre, a local government officer, and his wife Mary (née Moseley), a shopkeeper, Eyre was educated at Kin ...

, a British Conservative party politician, and Anne Clements. Her godmother was the actress

Hermione Gingold Hermione Ferdinanda Gingold (; 9 December 189724 May 1987) was an English actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric character. Her signature drawling, deep voice was a result of nodules on her vocal cords she developed in the 1920s and e ...

, who was a friend of her mother and whom she was named after. Eyre studied at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

, joining at the age of 13 in the first year that the school began to admit girls. Eyre read English at

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The col ...

. After university, Eyre trained as a croupier at the Bermondsey Casino Training Centre, and worked for a year at a London casino, dealing roulette and blackjack.

Career

Acting

At the age of seven, Eyre acted in ''About Face'', a sitcom with Maureen Lipman. She also acted as a young Agatha Christie in a BBC production. In 1990, Eyre obtained a role as Zinnie in the film '' The Children'' with

Kim Novak Marilyn Pauline "Kim" Novak (born February 13, 1933) is an American retired film and television actress and painter. Novak began her career in 1954 after signing with Columbia Pictures and quickly became one of Hollywood's top box office stars, ...

and

Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and tw ...

. Aged twelve, Eyre acted in her final role – as the Kid Clementina in an episode of the television series ''

Jeeves and Wooster ''Jeeves and Wooster'' is a British comedy-drama television series adapted by Clive Exton from P. G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" stories. It aired on the ITV network from 22 April 1990 to 20 June 1993, with the last series nominated for a Britis ...

''.

Journalism

Eyre worked at ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' as a staff writer for seven years. She was also a television critic for that newspaper. Eyre is known for her long-form interviews with celebrities, publishing her works in the ''London Evening Standard Magazine'', where she is a contributing editor. She has also written for 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 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 ...

''.

Books

Eyre co-wrote ''The Dictionary of National Celebrity'' in 2005. In 2014, she published a work of historical fiction ''Viper Wine'', featuring

Venetia Stanley Venetia Anastasia Digby (née Stanley) (December 1600 – 1 May 1633) was a celebrated beauty of the Stuart period and the wife of a prominent courtier and scientist, Kenelm Digby. She was a granddaughter of Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Nort ...

and

Kenelm Digby Sir Kenelm Digby (11 July 1603 – 11 June 1665) was an English courtier and diplomat. He was also a highly reputed natural philosopher, astrologer and known as a leading Roman Catholic intellectual and Blackloist. For his versatility, he is d ...

, which was nominated for the

Folio Prize The Rathbones Folio Prize, previously known as the Folio Prize and The Literature Prize, is a literary award that was sponsored by the London-based publisher The Folio Society for its first two years, 2014–2015. Starting in 2017 the sponsor is ...

, and short-listed for the

Walter Scott Prize The Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction is a British literary award founded in 2010.Walter Sc ...

. Eyre cites

Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...

Dorothy Parker Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhap ...

and

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

as influences.

Personal life

Eyre lives in

Archway, London Archway is an area of north London, England, in the London Borough of Islington north of Charing Cross. It straddles the A1 and is named after a local landmark, the high, single-arched Archway Bridge which crossed the road in a cutting to th ...

. In 2012, she married

Alex Burghart Michael Alex Burghart (born 7 September 1977) is a British politician, academic and former teacher who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Brentwood and Ongar since 2017. A member of the Conservative Party, he was formerly a special ad ...

, now a Conservative MP. Their daughter, Sybilla, was born in 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eyre, Hermione English women journalists English television journalists 21st-century English novelists English women novelists English historical novelists 1980 births Living people 21st-century English women writers Women historical novelists British women television journalists People educated at Rugby School Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford