Anna Beer (born 24 October 1964) is a British author and lecturer, primarily known for her work as a biographer.

Education

Anna Beer read

English Language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

and

Literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

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 ...

from 1984 to 1987, and from 1990 to 1993 at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

took a MA degree in Politics, Patronage and Literature, and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

on the political writings of

Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebell ...

Writings

Her particular interests as a biographer are "the relationship between literature, politics and history" (which was the basis for her life of John Milton in 2008), and the rediscovery of neglected lives, the motivation both for her book about Bess Throckmorton, the wife of Sir

(2004) and her exploration of the lives and work of female composers, ''Sounds and Sweet Airs: the forgotten women of classical music'', which was published by Oneworld Publications in 2016 and shortlisted for the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards in 2017 for Creative Communication. More recently ''Eve Bites Back: an Alternative History of English Literature'' explores the lives and work of eight authors, including

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

. It was described in the Times Literary Supplement as 'invigorating'.

Peter Ackroyd Peter Ackroyd (born 5 October 1949) is an English biographer, novelist and critic with a specialist interest in the history and culture of London. For his novels about English history and culture and his biographies of, among others, William ...

described Beer's biography of Milton as "a persuasive reading of the power and complexity of

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an Epic poetry, epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The poem concerns the Bible, biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their ex ...

," while former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion esteems it "a reliable guide to nonspecialists" and "the anniversary present he

ilton Ilton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south-east of Taunton, and north of Ilminster. The village has a population of 854. The parish includes the Hamlet (place), hamlets of Ilford and Cad Green with its 16th-cent ...

deserves". Philip Pullman called it "a beautifully clear account of a richly complex life...Fascinatingly vivid...It's the best narrative I've read of the life of our greatest public poet".

Academic career

She was Lecturer in

at the Department for Continuing Education at 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 ...

between 2003 and 2010, and remains a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of Kellogg College, Oxford. She is also a Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow. She was a

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

Distinguished Scholar from 2009 to 2010, is a mentor for the Fulbright Commission and chair of the Fulbright Alumni Council. She was elected a

of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

in 2015.

Gender Inequality in Arts

In recent years, Beer's work has focused increasingly on gender inequality in the arts. In an interview in 2022 she said "every day I see something in the news that echoes a tired, sexist cliché (some more toxic than others) from the past – whether the 1400s or 1900s – and that fires me up again. We owe it to these historical women to celebrate their lives and work and there are people right here, right now, who need to think again about their views of women with knowledge and authority". In this connection, she participated in a 2023 television documentary about Fanny Mendelssohn, whose life as a composer was restricted until she was encouraged by her husband, Wilhelm Hensel. Beer described Hensel as "an unsung hero of the 19th century ... that rare beast, a husband, an artist in his own right, who supported 100% his artist wife ... he gave Fanny Hensel ... year after year the encouragement to take her music out to the wider world."

Bibliography

* Ackroyd, Peter.
Peter Ackroyd examines the legacy of Milton
" ''

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 ...

''. 22 February

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. (accessed April 6, 2010). * Beer, Anna. ''Bess: the Life of Lady Ralegh, Wife to Sir Walter''. Constable and Robinson. 2004. * Beer, Anna. ''Milton: Poet, Pamphleteer and Patriot''. 1st Edition. St Ives Printing and Publishing Company:

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

, 2008. * Beer, Anna.
John Milton: Poet, Pamphleteer and Patriot
'.

Lecture A lecture (from ) is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history, background, theo ...

. Produced by Oxford University Department for Continuing Education. Performed by Anna Beer. 2008. * Beer, Anna

* Beer, Anna. ''Sounds and Sweet Airs: The Forgotten Women of Classical Music''. Oneworld Publications. 2016. * Sarah Crown, Crown, Sarah, and Anna Beer.
Anna Beer on her new biography of poet John Milton
" '' The Guardian Books Podcast''. 2008.

Podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

. * guardian.co.uk.
Anna Beer
" ''guardian.co.uk''. 6 April

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. (accessed April 6, 2010). * Motion, Andrew.
The mystery of genius
" ''

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 ...

''. 19 January 2008. (accessed April 6, 2010).

Notes

Anna Beer author website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beer, Anna English biographers British women biographers English literary critics British women literary critics John Milton Fellows of Kellogg College, Oxford Living people 1964 births