Sir Michael de Courcy Fraser Holroyd (born 27 August 1935) is an English biographer.

Early life and education

Holroyd was born in London, the son of Basil de Courcy Fraser Holroyd (a descendant of Sir

George Sowley Holroyd Sir George Sowley Holroyd (31 October 1758 – 21 November 1831) was an English lawyer and justice of the King's Bench. Life He was eldest son of George Holroyd, by Eleanor, daughter of Henry Sowley of Appleby, Westmorland, was born at York on 3 ...

Justice of the King's Bench Justice of the King's Bench, or Justice of the Queen's Bench during the reign of a female monarch, was a puisne judicial position within the Court of King's Bench, under the Chief Justice. The King's Bench was a court of common law which modern ...

, whose ancestor was Isaac Holroyd, younger brother of George, the great-great-grandfather of John Baker Holroyd, 1st Earl of Sheffield), and his wife, Ulla (known as "Sue"), daughter of Karl Knutsson-Hall, a Swedish army officer. His parents having separated- their son "left to grow up in a bewilderingly extended family, shunted back and forth among parents and stepparents and grandparents and uncles and aunts"- Holroyd was raised at his father's family home, Norhurst, at Maidenhead,

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

. The Holroyds "for a time enjoyed a small fortune", provided by, amongst other things, an Indian tea plantation; this fortune was eventually "done in by mismanagement of resources and foolish investments" including investment in

Lalique Lalique is a French glassmaker, founded by renowned glassmaker and jeweller René Lalique in 1888. Lalique is best known for producing glass art, including perfume bottles, vases, and hood ornaments during the early twentieth century. Following t ...

glassware, his grandfather having been its sole London agent in the 1920s. The Holroyd family had been "for several centuries" Yorkshire "butchers, clergymen, clothiers, farmers, landowners, soldiers, yeoman (sic) of all kinds". He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, though he has often claimed Maidenhead Public Library as his alma mater.

Career

In 1964, Holroyd published his first book, a biography of the writer

Hugh Kingsmill Hugh Kingsmill Lunn (21 November 1889 – 15 May 1949), who dropped his surname for professional purposes, was a versatile British writer and journalist. The writers Arnold Lunn and Brian Lunn were his brothers. Life Hugh Kingsmill Lunn was born ...

; his reputation was consolidated in 1967–68 with the publication of his two-volume life of

Lytton Strachey Giles Lytton Strachey (; 1 March 1880 – 21 January 1932) was an English writer and critic. A founding member of the Bloomsbury Group and author of ''Eminent Victorians'', he established a new form of biography in which psychological insight ...

(which the playwright Christopher Hampton later used extensively when writing the screenplay for the 1995 film '' Carrington''). Holroyd has also written biographies of

Augustus John Augustus Edwin John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sarge ...

and, in four volumes, of

Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

. His book ''A Book of Secrets: Illegitimate Daughters, Absent Fathers'' (2010) concerns the

Villa Cimbrone Villa Cimbrone is a historic ''villa'' in Ravello, on the Amalfi Coast of southern Italy. Dating from at least the 11th century, it is famous for its scenic belvedere, the ''Terrazza dell'Infinito'' (Terrace of Infinity). Much altered and exten ...

on the

Gulf of Salerno The Gulf of Salerno (Italian: ''Golfo di Salerno'') is a gulf of the Tyrrhenian Sea in the coast of the province of Salerno in south-western Italy. The northern part of this coast is the Costiera Amalfitana, which ends at Punta di Campanella an ...

and the Edwardian literary and society figures who lived there, such as

Ernest Beckett, 2nd Baron Grimthorpe Ernest William Beckett, 2nd Baron Grimthorpe (born Ernest William Beckett-Denison; 25 November 1856 – 9 May 1917) was a British banker and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 until 1905 when he inherited the Grimt ...

. '' Lytton Strachey: A Critical Biography'' (1967, 1968) became Holroyd's definitive work. He published a revised version in 1994 under the revised subtitle ''The New Biography''. Holroyd was chairman of the

Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. , it represents over 12,000 members and ass ...

, 1973–83, and from 1985 to 1988 was president of the English branch of

PEN A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity wh ...

. He is also President of

the Shaw Society ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

. His awards include the 2001

Heywood Hill Literary Prize The Heywood Hill Literary Prize was awarded yearly to a writer, editor, reviewer, collector or publisher for a lifelong contribution to the enjoyment of books. Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire Andrew Robert Buxton Cavendish, 11th Duke ...

and the 2005

David Cohen Prize The David Cohen Prize for Literature (est. 1993) is a British literary award given to a writer, novelist, short-story writer, poet, essayist or dramatist in recognition of an entire body of work, written in the English language. The prize is funde ...

for literature. In 2006, he was awarded the

Golden PEN Award The Golden PEN Award is a literary award established in 1993 by English PEN given annually to a British writer for "a Lifetime's Distinguished Service to Literature". The winner is chosen by the Board of English PEN. The award has previously been ...

English PEN Founded in 1921, English PEN is one of the world's first non-governmental organisations and among the first international bodies advocating for human rights. English PEN was the founding centre of PEN International, a worldwide writers' associat ...

for "a Lifetime's Distinguished Service to Literature". He was president of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

from 2003 to 2008, and was knighted in the 2007 New Year Honours List. Holroyd is a patron of

Dignity in Dying Dignity in Dying (originally The Voluntary Euthanasia Legalisation Society) is a United Kingdom nationwide campaigning organisation. It is funded by voluntary contributions from members of the public, and as of December 2010, it claimed to hav ...

Personal life

Holroyd is married to the author Margaret Drabble.

Awards

*1968—''

Yorkshire Post ''The Yorkshire Post'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds in Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by ...

'' Book Award (Book of the Year): ''Lytton Strachey: A Critical Biography'' *1988—Irish Life Arts Award *1989—

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

*1995—''

Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who als ...

'' (France) *2001—

*2003—

*2005— David Cohen British Literature Prize *2007— Knighted for services to

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

*2008—

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 ...

*2010—Lifetime Services to Biography Award

Bibliography

* * '' Lytton Strachey: A Critical Biography'', volume 1: ''The Unknown Years (1880-1910)'', Heinemann, 1967 * ''Lytton Strachey: A Critical Biography'', volume 2: ''The Years of Achievement (1910-1932)'', Heinemann, 1968 * ''A Dog's Life'', Henry Holt (US only), 1969 * ''The Best of Hugh Kingsmill: Selections from his Writings'' (editor), Gollancz, 1970 * ''Lytton Strachey by Himself: A Self-Portrait'' (editor), Heinemann, 1971 * ''Unreceived Opinions'', Heinemann, 1973 * ''Augustus John: A Biography'', volume 1: ''The Years of Innocence'', Heinemann, 1974 * ''The Art of Augustus John'' (with Malcolm Easton), Secker & Warburg, 1974 * ''Augustus John: A Biography'', volume 2: ''The Years of Experience'', Heinemann, 1975 * ''The Genius of Shaw: A Symposium'' (editor), Hodder & Stoughton, 1979 * ''The Shorter Strachey'' (editor with Paul Levy), Oxford University Press, 1980 * ''William Gerhardie: God's Fifth Column: A Biography of the Age: 1890-1940'' (editor with Robert Skidelsky), Hodder & Stoughton, 1981 * ''Essays by Divers Hands'', (editor), Boydell Press, 1982 * ''Peterley Harvest: The Private Diary of David Peterley'' (introduction), Secker & Warburg, 1985 * ''Bernard Shaw'', volume 1: ''1856-1898: The Search for Love'', Chatto & Windus, 1988 * ''Bernard Shaw'', volume 2: ''1898-1918: The Pursuit of Power'', Chatto & Windus, 1989 * ''Bernard Shaw'', volume 3: ''1918-1950: The Lure of Fantasy'', Chatto & Windus, 1991 * ''Bernard Shaw'', volume 4: ''1950-1991: The Last Laugh'', Chatto & Windus, 1992 * ''The Shaw Companion'', Chatto & Windus, 1992 * '' Lytton Strachey: The New Biography'', Chatto & Windus, 1994 * ''Augustus John: The New Biography'', Chatto & Windus, 1996 * ''Bernard Shaw'' (one-volume revised edition), Chatto & Windus, 1997 * ''Basil Street Blues'', Little, Brown, 1999 * ''The Whispering Gallery: Leaves from a Diplomat's Diary by Hesketh Pearson'', (introduction), Phoenix Press, 2000 * ''Works on Paper: The Craft of Biography and Autobiography'', Little, Brown, 2002 * ''Swedish Reflections: From Beowulf to Bergman'' (preface), Arcadia Books, 2003 * ''Mosaic'', Little, Brown, 2004 * ''A Strange Eventful History: The Dramatic Lives of Ellen Terry, Henry Irving and their Remarkable Families'', Chatto & Windus, 2008 * ''A Book of Secrets: Illegitimate Daughters, Absent Fathers'', Chatto & Windus, 2010 * ''On Wheels'', 2013 ;Critical studies and reviews of Holroyd's work * Reviews ''A book of secrets''.

Notes

External links

* *
"Portrait of a portrait painter"
an essay by Michael Holroyd about having his portrait painted fro
TLS
1 April 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Holroyd, Michael 1935 births Living people English biographers Writers from London 20th-century male writers 20th-century biographers Bloomsbury Group biographers People educated at Eton College Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients David Cohen Prize recipients Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Presidents of the Royal Society of Literature Presidents of the English Centre of PEN