Graham Macdonald Robb

FRSL 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, the ...

(born 2 June 1958, in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

) is a British

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and

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specialising in

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by French people, French citizens; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of Franc ...

Biography

Born at

, Robb attended the Royal Grammar School, Worcester, before going up to Exeter College, Oxford to read Modern Languages, graduating with first-class honours in 1981 ( BA (Oxon) proceeding MA). In 1982, Robb entered Goldsmiths' College, London to undertake

teacher training Teacher education or teacher training refers to programs, policies, procedures, and provision designed to equip (prospective) teachers with the knowledge, attitude (psychology), attitudes, behaviors, approaches, methodologies and skills they requir ...

, before pursuing postgraduate studies at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

where he received a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

. He was then awarded a junior research fellowship at Exeter College in the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

(1987–1990), before leaving academia. Robb won the

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

Whitbread Best Biography Award for ''

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

'', and was shortlisted 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 m ...

for '' Rimbaud'' in 2001. ''Unlocking Mallarmé'' had won the

Modern Language Association The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "str ...

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for Independent Scholars in 1996. All three of his

biographies A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

(''

'', '' Rimbaud'' and '' Balzac'') became ''

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'' "Best Books of the Year". '' The Discovery of France'' by Robb won the Duff Cooper Prize in 2007 and the RSL Ondaatje Prize in 2008. Elected a

Fellow 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, the ...

in 1998, Dr Robb was appointed a Chevalier of the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

in 2009. Following the publication of his French translation of ''Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris'', he was awarded the Medal of the City of Paris in 2012. Robb married

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

Margaret Hambrick in 1986. In ''The Discovery of Middle Earth: Mapping the Lost World of the Celts'' (2013), he argues that the ancient Celts organized their territories, determined the locations of settlements and battles, and set the trajectories of tribal migrations by establishing a network of solstice lines based on an extension of the Greek system of '' klimata''; as evidence he presented his interpretations of artistic geometries, road surveying, centuriations and what he saw as pre-Roman alignments.

The Discovery of Middle Earth: Mapping the Lost World of the Celts

Referring to Robb's discussion of meridians, Sean Rafferty said that "There are of course many problems with this interpretation. Robb’s evidence is either pure speculation or cherry-picking from ambiguous textual sources. There is no reason to suppose any direct ideological connection between the Greeks and the Celtic tribes of Europe, though the two cultures did interact in Eastern Europe. Assuming that mythological stories are true relations of history is highly problematic but regrettably quite common." In a ''New York Times'' book review, historian Ian Morris describes the book as "engaging" and combining "travelogue and historical detective story". He also says it lacks discipline and that "shows little hesitation about going with whatever works and ignoring what doesn't. From the three or four possible sites for the home of the Parisii tribe, he picks the one that falls closest to a meridian. He also rejects the most popular scholarly suggestions for where the Ambiani built their capital and Julius Caesar fought one of his most important battles in favor of less-popular locations that are closer to his lines. Similarly, pointing out that ''no single place has emerged as the favorite'' for the location of Mons Graupius, where Rome fought its northernmost battle, Robb puts it where two of his lines intersect." Morris quotes Rafferty who said " ''At the Euston Road entrance to the British Library, a voice proclaimed the 'druid network' to be nothing but a huge and complex system of personal reference, a testament, not to the druids' genius, but to the ruthless ingenuity of the unconscious mind.''Morris, Ian. "Secret History." The New York Times Book Review, 24 Nov. 2013, p. 28(L). Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A350192803/ITOF. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.

Bibliography

Books

* *''Baudelaire lecteur de Balzac'' (1988), *''Baudelaire'' (1989), , translation of 1987 French text by Prof. Claude Pichois *''La Poésie de Baudelaire et la poésie française, 1838–1852'' (1993), , criticism *''Balzac: A Biography'' (1994), *''Unlocking Mallarmé'' (1996), *''Victor Hugo'' (1997), *''Rimbaud'' (2000), *''Strangers: Homosexual Love in the 19th Century'' (2003), *''The Discovery of France. A Historical Geography from the Revolution to the First World War'' (2007), illustrated, 454 pp. W. W. Norton *''Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris'' (2010), W. W. Norton *''The Ancient Paths: Discovering the Lost Map of Celtic Europe'', ; US title: ''The Discovery of Middle Earth: Mapping the Lost World of the Celts'', *''Cols and Passes of the British Isles'' (2016), *''The Debatable Land: The Lost World Between Scotland and England'' (2018), * Briefly reviewed in th
September 5, 2022 issue
of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', p.59.

Book reviews

——————— ;Notes

References

External links

* List of Dr Robb'
contributions
to

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...

* List of Dr Robb'
contributions
to the

London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published bimonthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of Book ...

Celtic Paths, Illuminated by a Sundial : Graham Robb's Theory on Celtic Migrations
Rachel Donadio, The New York Times, 18 November 2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:Robb, Graham 1958 births Living people People from Manchester English people of Scottish descent People educated at the Royal Grammar School Worcester Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Vanderbilt University alumni English biographers Writers from Manchester English non-fiction writers Celtic studies scholars English literary historians Historians of French literature Local historians of France Costa Book Award winners Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature