Dame Marina Sarah Warner (born 9 November 1946) is an English historian, mythographer, art critic, novelist and short story writer. She is known for her many non-fiction books relating to

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

and myth. She has written for many publications, including '' The London Review of Books'', the ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

'', '' Sunday Times,'' and '' Vogue''. She has been a visiting professor, given lectures and taught on the faculties of many universities. She resigned from her position as professor in the Department of Literature, Film and Theatre Studies at the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

in 2014, sharply criticising moves towards "for-profit business model" universities in the UK, and is now Professor of English and Creative Writing at

Birkbeck, University of London Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a Public university, public research university located in London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London. Establ ...

. In 2017, she was elected president of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

(RSL), the first time the role has been held by a woman since the founding of the RSL in 1820."First woman boss for RSL"
''BookBrunch'', 17 March 2017. She has been a Distinguished Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, since 2019. In 2015, having received the prestigious Holberg Prize, Warner decided to use the award to start the Stories in Transit project, a series of workshops bringing international artists, writers and other creatives together with young migrants living in Palermo, Sicily."The Holberg Prize Names British Storyteller and Fairytale Critic Marina Warner as 2015 Laureate"
Press Release, Oxford University Press, 12 March 2015.

Biography

Marina Warner was born in London to an English father, Esmond Warner (died 1982), and Ilia ( Emilia Terzulli, died 2008), an Italian whom he had met during the Second World War in

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

., Her paternal grandfather was the cricketer Sir Pelham Warner. She has one sister, Laura Gascoigne, who is an art critic. Marina was brought up initially in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, where her father ran a bookshop, until it was set on fire during attacks on foreign businesses in January 1952, a precursor to the Egyptian revolution. The family then moved to

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

and to

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

and

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, England, where Marina studied at St Mary's School, Ascot. She studied French and Italian at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. While at Oxford she was the editor of ''The Isis'' magazine (published by

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, politician and fraudster. After escaping the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, ...

). In 1971, she married William Shawcross, with whom she has a son, the sculptor Conrad. The couple divorced in 1980. She was married to the painter Johnny Dewe Mathews from 1981 to 1997. Her third husband is mathematician Graeme Segal. Warner has been identified as the "lady writer" of the Dire Straits song " Lady Writer" (1979), whom the singer sees on television "talking about the Virgin Mary" and who reminds him of his former lover.

Career

Warner began her career as a staff writer for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', before working as '' Vogues features editor from 1969 until 1972. Her first book was ''The Dragon Empress: The Life and Times of Tz'u-hsi, Empress Dowager of China, 1835–1908'' (1972), followed by the controversial ''Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary'' (1976), a provocative study of Roman Catholic veneration of the Virgin Mary. These were followed by '' Joan of Arc: The Image of Female Heroism'' (1981) and ''Monuments & Maidens: The Allegory of the Female Form'' (1985). Warner's novel ''The Lost Father'' was on the Booker Prize shortlist in 1988. Her non-fiction book ''From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers'' won a Mythopoeic Award in 1996. The companion study of the male terror figure (from ancient myth and folklore to modern obsessions), ''No Go the Bogeyman: On Scaring, Lulling, and Making Mock'', was published in October 1998 and won the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

's Rose Mary Crawshay Prize in 2000. Warner's other novels include ''The Leto Bundle'' (2001) and ''

Indigo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...

'' (1992). Her book ''Phantasmagoria'' (2006) traces the ways in which "the spirit" has been represented across different mediums, from waxworks to cinema. In December 2012, she presented a programme on BBC Radio Four about the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm (1786–1859), were Germans, German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of Oral tradit ...

. She was elected a Fellow of the

in 1984. In 1994 she became only the second woman to deliver the BBC's Reith Lectures, published as ''Managing Monsters: Six Myths of Our Time'', in which she gave an analysis of the workings of myth in contemporary society, with emphasis on politics and entertainment."Marina Warner"

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

, Literature. Warner received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

(DLitt) from 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 ...

on 21 June 2006, and also holds honorary degrees from the universities of

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

(1995),

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

(1997) and

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

(1998), and honorary doctorates from

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield station, Sheffield railway station, whil ...

(1995), the

University of North London The University of North London (UNL) was a university in London, England, formed from the Polytechnic of North London (PNL) in 1992 when that institution was granted university status. PNL, in turn, had been formed by the amalgamation of the No ...

(1997), the Tavistock Institute (

University of East London University of East London (UEL) is a public university located in the London Borough of Newham, London, England, based at three campuses in Stratford, London, Stratford and London Docklands, Docklands, following the opening of University Squar ...

; 1999), Oxford University (2002), the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

(2004),

University of Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...

(2005), the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

(2006), and

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

(2009).Profile
, Contemporary Writers.com; accessed 31 December 2014. She was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to literature. She was a professor in the Department of Literature, Film and Theatre Studies at the

from 2004 until her resignation in 2014. She took up a chair in English and Creative Writing at Birkbeck College, University of London, in September 2014. She is a quondam fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and was chair of the judges of the Man Booker International Prize 2015. Warner was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to higher education and literary scholarship. In 2015–16, she was the Weidenfeld Visiting Professor of European

Comparative Literature Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...

in St Anne's College, Oxford, part of the Humanitas Programme. In March 2017, Warner was elected as the 19th—and first female—president of the

(RSL), succeeding Colin Thubron in the post. On Warner's retirement from the role at the end of 2021,

Bernardine Evaristo Bernardine Anne Mobolaji Evaristo (born 28 May 1959) is an English author and academic. Her novel ''Girl, Woman, Other'' jointly won the Booker Prize in 2019 alongside Margaret Atwood's ''The Testaments'', making her the first Black woman to win ...

became the new president, with Warner subsequently becoming RSL President Emerita. In 2019, Warner chaired the judges of the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature. She was appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in the

2022 Birthday Honours The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those ...

for services to the humanities.

Honours and awards

* 1984: Elected Fellow of the

* 1986: Fawcett Society Book Prize for ''Monuments and Maidens: The Allegory of the Female Form'' * 1988: Booker Prize for Fiction (shortlist) for ''The Lost Father'' * 1988: PEN/Macmillan Silver Pen Award for ''The Lost Father'' * 1989: Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia Region, Best Book) for ''The Lost Father'' * 1996: Mythopoeic Award for ''From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers'' * 1999: Katharine Briggs Folklore Award for ''No Go the Bogeyman: Scaring, Lulling and Making Mock'' * 2000: Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France) * 2000: Rose Mary Crawshay Prize for English Literature for ''No Go the Bogeyman: Scaring, Lulling and Making Mock'' * 2005: Commendatore dell'Ordine della Stella di Solidarieta (Italy) * 2005: Elected Fellow of the

* 2008: Appointed

(CBE) * 2012: National Book Critics Circle Award (Criticism) for ''Stranger Magic: Charmed States and the Arabian Nights'' * 2013: Truman Capote Award for Literary Criticism for ''Stranger Magic'' * 2013: Sheikh Zayed Book Award for Arab Culture in Non-Arabic Languages for ''Stranger Magic'' * 2013: All Souls College, Oxford Two-Year Fellowship * 2013: Mansfield College, Oxford, Honorary Fellow * 2013: St Cross College, Oxford, Honorary Fellow * 2015: Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE), for services to higher education and literary scholarship * 2015: Holberg Prize, for "her work on the analysis of stories and myths and how they reflect their time and place" * 2017–2021: Elected president of the

* 2017: British Academy Medal "for lifetime achievement" * 2017: World Fantasy Award "for lifetime achievement" * 2022: Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, for services to the humanities.

Publications

*''The Dragon Empress: Life and Times of Tz'u-hsi 1835–1908'' ( Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1972) *''Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1976) *''In a Dark Wood'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1977) *''Queen Victoria Sketch Book'' ( Macmillan, 1979) *''The Crack in the Tea-Cup: Britain in the 20th Century'' ( André Deutsch, 1979) *''Joan of Arc: The Image of Female Heroism'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1981) *''The Impossible Day'' ( Methuen, 1981) *''The Impossible Night'' (Methuen, 1981) *''The Impossible Bath'' (Methuen, 1982) *''The Impossible Rocket'' (Methuen, 1982) *''The Skating Party'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1982) *''The Wobbly Tooth'' (André Deutsch, 1984) *''Monuments and Maidens: The Allegory of the Female Form'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1985) *''The Lost Father'' ( Chatto & Windus, 1988) *''Into the Dangerous World'' (Chatto & Windus, 1989) *''Imagining a Democratic Culture'' (Charter 88, 1991) *''

'' (Chatto & Windus, 1992) *'' L'Atalante'' (

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

, 1993) *''Mermaids in the Basement'' (Chatto & Windus, 1993) *''Richard Wentworth'' ( Thames & Hudson, 1993) *''From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers'' (Chatto & Windus, 1994) *''Managing Monsters: Six Myths of Our Time'' (Reith Lectures) (Vintage, 1994) *''Wonder Tales: Six Stories of Enchantment'' (editor) (Chatto & Windus, 1994) *''Six Myths Of Our Time: Little Angels, Little Monsters, Beautiful Beasts, and More'' (New York: Vintage, 1995) *''Donkey Business Donkey Work: Magic and Metamorphoses in Contemporary Opera'' (

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

, 1996) *''The Inner Eye: Art beyond the Visible'' (National Touring Exhibitions, 1996) *''No Go the Bogeyman: Scaring, Lulling and Making Mock'' (Chatto & Windus, 1998) *''The Leto Bundle'' (Chatto & Windus, 2001) Long listed for the Man Booker Prize. *''Fantastic Metamorphoses, Other Worlds'' (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2002) *''Murderers I Have Known and Other Stories'' (Chatto & Windus, 2002) *''Collected Poems by Sally Purcell'' – preface (

Anvil An anvil is a metalworking tool consisting of a large block of metal (usually Forging, forged or Steel casting, cast steel), with a flattened top surface, upon which another object is struck (or "worked"). Anvils are massive because the hi ...

, 2002) *''Signs & Wonders: Essays on Literature and Culture'' (Chatto & Windus, 2003) *''Phantasmagoria'' (Oxford University Press, 2006)'' *''Stranger Magic: Charmed States & The Arabian Nights'' (Chatto & Windus, 2011) *''Once Upon a Time: A Short History of Fairy Tale'' (Oxford University Press, 2014) *''Fly Away Home'' ( Salt Publishing, 2015) *''Fairy Tale: A Very Short Introduction'' (Oxford University Press, 2018) *''Forms of Enchantment: Writings on Art and Artists'' (Thames & Hudson, 2018) *''Inventory of a Life Mislaid: An Unreliable Memoir'' (Collins, 2021) *''Helen Chadwick: The Oval Court'' (Afterall Books, 2022) *''Temporale'' (Sylph Editions, 2023)

References

External links

*
Stanford Presidential Lecture by Warner
(excerpts)
Managing Monsters
1994 Reith Lectures at BBC4 (audio)
Marina Warner
as contributor to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' * Elizabeth Dearner
"Interview with Marina Warner"
'' The White Review'', July 2013. * Leo Robson
"Marina Warner: 'I've always found it very hard to know what I’m like
'' The New Statesman'', 5 July 2021. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Warner, Marina 1946 births 20th-century English short story writers 20th-century English historians 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English short story writers 21st-century English historians 21st-century English novelists 21st-century English women writers Academics of the University of Essex Academics of the University of St Andrews Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Cultural historians Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire English art critics English non-fiction writers English people of Italian descent English short story writers English women historians Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Holberg Prize laureates National Book Critics Circle Award winners Living people Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Mythographers People educated at St Mary's School, Ascot People from Ascot, Berkshire People from Paddington Presidents of the Royal Society of Literature Recipients of the British Academy Medal Rose Mary Crawshay Prize winners

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

English women short story writers Writers from the City of Westminster