Barbara Everett (September 1932 – 4 April 2025) was a Canadian-born British academic and literary critic, whose work appeared frequently in the ''

London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published bimonthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of Book ...

'' and ''

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 publis ...

''. In addition to her own publications, she is recognised as a leading Shakespeare scholar. Everett was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada. She read English at

St Hilda's College, Oxford St Hilda's College (full name = Principal and Council of St. Hilda's College, Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. The college is named after the Anglo-Saxon saint Hilda of Whitby and was founded in 1893 as a ...

, from 1951 to 1954. At the time of her death, she was a retired Fellow of

Somerville College Somerville College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. It began admitting men in 1994. The college's liberal tone derives from its f ...

. She was married to the Oxford scholar of English literature, Emrys Jones, with whom she appeared in the 1996 documentary '' Looking for Richard''.

Frank Kermode Sir John Frank Kermode, FBA (29 November 1919 – 17 August 2010) was a British literary critic best known for his 1967 work '' The Sense of an Ending: Studies in the Theory of Fiction'' and for his extensive book-reviewing and editing. He wa ...

described her as "a connoisseur of styles" with "a distinctive style of her own", and her 1986 book, ''Poets in their time'' as "one of the finest collections of criticism for years". A selection of her essays, edited by Seamus Perry, was published in 2025 by the

, shortly before her death on 4 April 2025, at the age of 92.

Select bibliography

Books

*'' Auden'' (1964) *''Donne: A London Poet'' (1972), *''Poets in their Time: Essays on English Poetry from Donne to Larkin'' (1986), *''Young Hamlet: Essays on Shakespeare's Tragedies'' (1989),

Articles

"Shakespeare and the Elizabethan Sonnet". ''London Review of Books'', Vol. 30 no 9 (8 May 2008)Shakespeare". ''London Review of Books'', Vol. 32 no 16 (19 August 2010)
*"Barbara Pym's Last Title". ''Essays in Criticism'', vol 73, no 1 (2023), pages 1–7

References

1932 births 2025 deaths Alumni of St Hilda's College, Oxford Fellows of Somerville College, Oxford Shakespearean scholars British women academics British literary critics British women literary critics British women non-fiction writers {{UK-academic-bio-stub