Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (29 April 1946 – 4 January 2005) was an English

biographer Biographers are authors who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own biography. Biographers Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome ...

, writer, and radio broadcaster. He is known especially for his biographies of

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

and other members of the literary society

the Inklings The Inklings were an informal literary discussion group associated with J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis at the University of Oxford for nearly two decades between the early 1930s and late 1949. The Inklings were literary enthusiasts who prai ...

. He won a Mythopoeic Award for his book ''The Inklings'' in 1982.

Early life

Carpenter was born in the city of

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, England. His father was Harry Carpenter,

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft, following the Confirm ...

. His mother was Urith Monica Trevelyan, who had training in the Fröbel teaching method. As a child, he lived in the Warden's Lodgings at

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, University Museum a ...

, where his father served as

warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...

until his appointment as Bishop of Oxford. He was educated at the Dragon School, Oxford and

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...

. He returned to Oxford to read English at Keble College.

Broadcasting

Carpenter began his broadcasting career at BBC Radio Oxford as a presenter and producer where he met Mari Prichard (whose father was Caradog Prichard, the Welsh novelist and poet); they married in 1973. They jointly produced ''A Thames Companion'' in 1975. He played a role in launching Radio 3's arts discussion programme '' Night Waves'' and acted as a regular presenter of other programmes on the network including Radio 3's afternoon drivetime programme '' In Tune'' and, until it was discontinued, its Sunday request programme ''Listeners' Choice''. Until his death, he presented the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

biography series ''

Great Lives ''Great Lives'' is a BBC Radio 4 biography series, produced in Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the re ...

'' recorded in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. The last edition recorded before his death featured an

interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" re ...

with the singer Eddi Reader about the poet

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

, the major focus of her creative work. BBC Radio 4 broadcast this programme on New Year's Eve, 2004.

Jazz music and children's drama

Carpenter was an amateur

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musician who played the piano, the saxophone, and the double-bass, the last instrument professionally in a dance band in the 1970s. In 1983, he formed a 1930s style jazz band, Vile Bodies, which for many years enjoyed a residency at the Ritz Hotel in London. He also founded the Mushy Pea Theatre Group, a children's drama group based in Oxford, which premiered his ''Mr Majeika: The Musical'' in 1991 and ''Babes'', a musical about Hollywood child stars.

Children's books

His '' Mr Majeika'' series of children's books were adapted for television. ''The Joshers: Or London to Birmingham with Albert and Victoria'' (1977) is a children's adventure book, similar in style to ''

The Railway Children ''The Railway Children'' is a children's book by E. Nesbit, Edith Nesbit, originally serialised in ''The London Magazine'' during 1905 and published in book form in the same year. It has been adapted for the screen several times, of which the ...

'' and based on the adventure of taking a working narrowboat up the

Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the Canals of the United Kingdom, British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another to Birmi ...

from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

Non-fiction works

His biographies included '' J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography'' (1977; also editing of '' The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien''), ''The Inklings: CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, Charles Williams and their Friends'' (1978; winner of the 1978 Somerset Maugham Award),

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry is noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in tone, ...

(1981),

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an List of poets from the United States, American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Ita ...

(1988; winner of the Duff Cooper Memorial Prize),

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

(1989),

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

(1992), Robert Runcie (1997), Dennis Potter, and

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British India, where he spent his ...

(2004). He authored ''Geniuses Together: American Writers in Paris in the 1920s'' (1987); his last book was ''The Seven Lives of John Murray'' (2008) about John Murray and the publishing house of Albemarle Street, was published posthumously. He wrote histories of

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

, the British satire boom of the 1960s, '' Angry Young Men: A Literary Comedy of the 1950s'' (2002), and a centennial history of the

Oxford University Dramatic Society The Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS) is the principal funding body and provider of theatrical services to the many independent student productions put on by students in Oxford, England. Not all student productions at Oxford University a ...

in 1985. His encyclopaedic work, ''

The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature ''The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature'' is a reference work first published in 1984, with its most recent edition in 2015. The Oxford Companions is a book series providing general knowledge within a specific area, in this case, children ...

'' (1984), written jointly with his wife, Mari Prichard, has become a standard reference source.

Death

Humphrey Carpenter died in 2005 of heart failure, compounded by the

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

from which he had suffered for several years. He was buried in

Wolvercote Cemetery Wolvercote Cemetery is a cemetery in the parish of Wolvercote and district of Cutteslowe in Oxford, England. Its main entrance is on Banbury Road and it has a side entrance in Five Mile Drive. It has a funeral chapel, public toilets and a small a ...

in Oxford, also the final resting place of

. A commemorative stained-glass window was installed in St Margaret's Institute, Polstead Road, honouring Carpenter's many accomplishments.

Selected works

* ''A Thames Companion'' (with Mari Prichard; Oxford Illustrated, 1975) * ''The Joshers; or London to Birmingham with Albert and Victoria: A Story of the Canals'' (George Allen & Unwin, 1977) * '' J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography'' (HarperCollins, 1977) * ''The Inklings: C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams and Their Friends'' (George Allen & Unwin, 1978) * ''Jesus'' (Past Masters Series; Oxford University Press, 1980) * ''W. H. Auden. A Biography'' (George Allen & Unwin, 1981) * ''The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien'' (editor; George Allen & Unwin, 1981) * ''The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature'' (with Mari Prichard; Oxford University Press, 1984) * ''O.U.D.S.: A Centenary History of the

'' (Oxford University Press, 1985) * ''Secret Gardens: A Study of the Golden Age of Children's Literature'' (George Allen & Unwin, 1985) * ''Geniuses Together: American Writers in Paris in the 1920s'' (Unwin Hyman, 1987) * ''A Serious Character: Ezra Pound'' (Faber & Faber, 1988) * ''The Brideshead Generation: Evelyn Waugh and His Friends'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1989) * ''Benjamin Britten. A Biography'' (Faber & Faber, 1992) * ''Shakespeare, Without the Boring Bits'' (Viking Children's Books, 1994) * ''The Puffin Book of Classic Children's Stories'' (Viking Children's Books, 1996) * ''Robert Runcie: The Reluctant Archbishop'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 1996) * ''The Envy of the World: Fifty Years of the BBC Third Programme and Radio 3'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1996) * ''Dennis Potter. The Authorized Biography'' (Faber & Faber, 1998) * ''That Was Satire That Was:

Beyond the Fringe ''Beyond the Fringe'' was a British comedy Play (theatre), stage revue written and performed by Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller, and Dudley Moore. It debuted at the 1960 Edinburgh Festival and went on to play in London's West End the ...

, the Establishment Club,

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...

and

That Was the Week That Was ''That Was the Week That Was'', informally ''TWTWTW'' or ''TW3'', is a satirical television comedy programme that aired on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced, and directed by Ned Sherrin and Jack (aka John) Duncan, and pr ...

'' (Gollancz, 2000) ** (US edition) ''A Great, Silly Grin: The British Satire Boom of the 1960s'' (PublicAffairs, 2002) * '' The Angry Young Men: A Literary Comedy of the 1950s'' (Allen Lane, 2002) * ''Spike Milligan. The Biography'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 2003) * ''The Seven Lives of John Murray: The Story of a Publishing Dynasty'' (John Murray, 2008)

References

External links

Gently mischievous broadcaster and prolific writer
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 6 January 2005 * Christopher Lehmann-Haupt
"Humphrey Carpenter, English biographer, dies at 58"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 19 January 2005
Tributes Paid to Humphrey Carpenter BBC Radio
*
Finding aid to the Humphrey Carpenter papers at Columbia University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, Humphrey 1946 births 2005 deaths 20th-century English biographers 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English saxophonists Alumni of Keble College, Oxford BBC Radio 3 presenters BBC Radio 4 presenters British jazz double-bassists Britten scholars Burials at Wolvercote Cemetery Children's literature criticism English children's writers English jazz pianists English jazz saxophonists English male novelists English non-fiction writers English male biographers People educated at Marlborough College People educated at The Dragon School People with Parkinson's disease Tolkien Society Award winners