Muriel Clara Bradbrook (1909–1993), usually cited as M. C. Bradbrook, was a British literary scholar and authority on

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

. She was Professor of

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 ide ...

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

, and Mistress of

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college statu ...

Biography

Born on 27 April 1909, Bradbrook was the eldest child of Annie Wilson (née Harvey) and her husband Samuel Bradbrook, superintendent of HM Waterguard. She was educated at Hutcheson’s Girls’ School, Glasgow, and Oldershaw High School, Wallasey. Between 1927 and 1930 she studied English at Girton College, Cambridge, graduating with first-class honours in both parts of the Cambridge

Tripos At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mathe ...

. She remained at Girton College as a Carlisle Scholar and subsequently as an Ottilie Hancock Research Fellow between 1930 and 1935, obtaining her PhD in 1933. She spent a year at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

before returning to Girton College as Lecturer in English and Fellow in 1936. She remained in Cambridge apart from a period working in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

for the Board of Trade during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. By that time, she had already published five major works of literary criticism and throughout the 1950s and 60s she continued to publish on Shakespeare and the Elizabethans. In all, she wrote some 17 books, including works on Ibsen, Lowry and Conrad. She was appointed a University Lecturer by University of Cambridge in 1948, a Reader in 1962, and Professor of English in 1965 (the first female professor in the Faculty of English). She held visiting professorships at numerous universities, including Santa Cruz,

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, and

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

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, and received honorary degrees from many more. During her period of office as Mistress, Girton College celebrated its centenary (for which she wrote a history, ''That Infidel Place'' ) and the decision was taken to admit men. She retired in 1976 and became a Life Fellow of Girton College. She died on 11 June 1993.

Recognition

In 2016, the Council of the University of Cambridge approved the use of Bradbrook's name to mark a physical feature within the

North West Cambridge Development The North West Cambridge Development is a University of Cambridge site to the north west of Cambridge city centre in England. The development is meant to alleviate overcrowding and rising land prices in Cambridge. The first phase resulted from ...

Works

*''Elizabethan Stage Conditions: A Study of Their Place in the Interpretation of Shakespeare's Plays'' (1932) *''Themes and Conventions of Elizabethan Tragedy'' (1935) *''The School of Night: A Study in the Literature Relationships of Sir Walter Raleigh'' (1936) *''Andrew Marvell'' (1940) with M. G. Lloyd Thomas *''Joseph Conrad: Poland's English Genius'' (1941) *''Ibsen - The Norwegian : A Revaluation'' (1946) *''T. S. Eliot'' (1950) *''Shakespeare and Elizabethan Poetry: A Study of His Earlier Work in Relation to the Poetry of the Time'' (1951) *''Themes & Convention of Elizabethan Tragedy'' (1952) *''The Queen's Garland : Tudor Poems Now Collected in Honour of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II'' (1953) editor *''The Growth and Structure of Elizabethan Comedy'' (1955) *''Sir Thomas Malory'' (1958) *''The Rise of the Common Player: A Study of Actor and Society in Shakespeare's England '' (1962) *''English Dramatic Form: A History of Its Development'' (1965) *''Shakespeare's Primitive Art'' (1965) *''The Tragic Pageant of Timon of Athens'' (1966) *''That Infidel Place - a Short History of Girton College 1869 – 1969'' (1969) *''Shakespeare the Craftsman '' (1969) Clark Lectures 1968 *''Literature in Action: Studies in Continental and Commonwealth Society'' (1972) *''T.S. Eliot: the Making of The Waste Land'' (1972) *''Malcolm Lowry: His art and Early Life - a study in transformation'' (1974) *''The Living Monument : Shakespeare and the Theatre of His Time'' (1976) *''George Chapman'' (1977) *''Shakespeare : The Poet in His World'' (1978) *''In defence of Plato's love in modern literature'' (1979) *''John Webster, Citizen and Dramatist'' (1980) *''The Artist and Society in Shakespeare's England'' (1982) Collected Papers I *''Women and Literature 1779-1982'' (1982) Collected Papers II *''Aspects of Dramatic Form in the English and Irish Renaissance'' (1983) Collected Papers III *''Muriel Bradbrook on Shakespeare'' (1984) *''Shakespeare in His Context: The Constellated Globe'' (1989) Collected Papers IV

Notes

References

External links

* ''M. C. Bradbrook, 84, Shakespeare Scholar'', Obituary, ''The New York Times'', June 21, 1993

Official website of Girton College
University of Cambridge.

Portraits of Muriel Bradbrook

* Portrait by Bassano, 9 January 1969
National Portrait Gallery, London
* Portrait by Bassano, 9 January 1969
National Portrait Gallery, London
* Portrait by Mayotte Magnus, August 1976
National Portrait Gallery, London
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradbrook, Muriel Carla 1909 births 1993 deaths British women academics Mistresses of Girton College, Cambridge Scottish classical scholars Shakespearean scholars Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge Fellows of Girton College, Cambridge 20th-century poets