Peter Hugh Marshall (born 1946) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

author of over a dozen works of philosophy, history, biography, travel writing, and poetry. He is best known for his 1991 history of anarchism, '' Demanding the Impossible'', and his 1984 biography of William Godwin.

Early life and career

Peter Marshall was born in

Bognor Regis Bognor Regis (), sometimes simply known as Bognor (), is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns i ...

, England, on 23 August 1946 to the horse trainer William and Vera Marshall. He received a bachelor's degree from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

in 1970 and his master's and doctorate from the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

in 1971 and 1977, respectively. During his studies, Marshall taught English for a year in

Dakar, Senegal Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 20 ...

, served two years in the British Merchant Navy, and was a

tutor TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in ...

in philosophy and literature, which he continued after receiving his doctorate. In 1981, he became a tutor in philosophy at the University College of North Wales, where he continued until 1990 and published books on

William Godwin William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English journalist, political philosophy, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. God ...

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of t ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

, and

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

. Following his Godwin biography, Marshall edited two more works on the radical British philosopher. In the 1990s, Marshall wrote a history of anarchism, '' Demanding the Impossible'', and a history of the environmental movement, ''Nature's Web''. He considers these two his most important and influential works, though his personal favorite is ''Riding the Wind'', which asserts his spiritual philosophy of "liberation ecology". Marshall's additional travel books addressed Africa, Ireland, and

the Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

. He created a six-hour documentary, ''Voyage Around Africa'' on his

circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circumnavigation of the Earth was the ...

of the continent. In the 2000s, he authored several books on alchemy, astrology, and magic. Marshall has written for ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'', ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'', and the ''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to '' The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

''. He also works as a radio and television broadcaster and has appeared on the

History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

. '' Resurgence'' magazine named Marshall's ''Nature's Web'' among their most essential books of the late 20th century.

Personal life

Marshall is married to radio broadcaster Jenny Therese Zobel. They have two children.

Works

* '' William Godwin: Philosopher, Novelist, Revolutionary'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984) * ''Journey through Tanzania'', with photographers Mohamed Amin & Duncan Willetts (London: Bodley Head, 1984) * ''Into Cuba'' with photographer Barry Lewis (London: Zena, 1985) * (ed), ''The Anarchist Writings of William Godwin'' (London: Freedom Press, 1986) * ''Cuba Libre: Breaking the Chains?'' (London: Victor Gollancz, 1987) * ''William Blake: Visionary Anarchist'' (London: Freedom Press, 1988) * '' Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism'' (London: HarperCollins, 1991) * '' Nature's Web: An Exploration of Ecological Thinking'' (London: Simon & Schuster, 1992) * ''Journey through Maldives'', with photographers Mohamed Amin & Duncan Willetts (Nairobi: Camerapix,1992) * ''Around Africa: From the Pillars of Hercules to the Strait of Gibraltar'' (London: Simon & Schuster, 1994) * ''Celtic Gold: A Voyage Around Ireland'' (London: Sinclair Stevenson, 1997) * ''Riding the Wind: A New Philosophy for a New Era'' (London: Continuum, 1998) * ''The Philosopher's Stone: A Quest for the Secrets of Alchemy'' (London: Macmillan, 2001) * ''World Astrology: The Astrologer's Quest to Understand the Human Character'' (London: Macmillan, 2003) * ''Europe's Lost Civilization: Uncovering the Mysteries of the Megaliths'' (London: Headline, 2004) * ''The Theatre of the World: Alchemy, Astrology and Magic in Renaissance Prague'' (London: Harvill Secker,2006). Also published as ''The Magic Circle of Rudolf II'' (New York: 2006) and ''The Mercurial Emperor'' (London: Pimlico,2007) * ''Poseidon's Realm: A Voyage Around the Aegean'' (London: Zena Publications, 2016) * ''Bognor Boy: How I Became an Anarchist'' (London: Zena Publications, 2018)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Peter 1946 births Living people English anarchists British historians Historians of anarchism John Llewellyn Rhys Prize winners English environmentalists People from Bognor Regis Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Alumni of the University of London Alumni of the University of Sussex