The Reading Life Review 2016- Part I- Literary Biographies

I became very interested in reading biographies of writers in 2016.  Here is a list of the books I read in the order in which I encountered them, with some brief comments.


1.  Woman of Rome, A Life of Elsa Moravia by Lilly Tuck.  Wife of Alberto Moravia, this is also an interesting   account of Italy during World War Two.


2.  Montaigne by Stefan Zweig.  A delightful work


3.  The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham by Selina Hastings.  A very good work by a master biographer.

4.  Rosamund Lehmann A Life by Selina Hastings.  Loved it and read all of her books.
5.  Daphne du Maurier and Her Sisters by Jean Dunn.  Very informative


6. Nancy Mitford A Biography by Selina Hastings.  Felt I really knew Nancy


7, The Mirador Dream Memoirs of Irene Nemirovsky
 by her Daughter Elizabeth Gill


8. Proust The Search by Benjamin Taylor. Minor biography


 9. More Lives than One A Biography of Hans Fallada by Jenny Williams


10. The Sisters The Saga of the Mitford Family by Nancy Lovell.  Very comprehensive


11,  Roland Dahl A Biography by Jeremy Treglown


12 Shirley Jackson a Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin.  Getting lots of media attention


13Feared Strangers Gertrude Stein and her Family by Linda Wagner-Martin.  Very interesting




14, Ernest Hemingway A Biography by Mary Dearborn. For those very into Hemingway


15.  Thackeray The Life of a Literary Man by D. C. Taylor.  Covers his story well


16. Beryl Bainbridge Love by All Sorts of Means by Brendan King.  Helped me a lot in understanding her work.


17. The Nemirosky Question The Life, Death and Legacy of a Jewish Woman in 20th Century France by Susan Sulieman. Interesting book, academic,




18.   Barney, Grove Press and an American Maverick Publisher and the Battle Against Censorship by Michael Rossenthal


19 Mandalay Forever by Tatiana de Rosnay.  A novelistic biography of Daphne du Maurier


I did not realize I read 18 literary biographies.  I am so glad I did.  Please share with us your favorite biographies


I will do a later post on my plans for this genre in 2017


Mel