Claire Tomalin (née Delavenay; born 20 June 1933) is an English

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and biographer, known for her biographies of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Wo ...

, Samuel Pepys, Jane Austen and Mary Wollstonecraft.

Early life

Tomalin was born Claire Delavenay on 20 June 1933 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 ...

, the daughter of English composer Muriel Herbert and French academic Émile Delavenay.

Education

Tomalin was educated at Hitchin Girls' Grammar School, a former state grammar school in Hitchin in Hertfordshire, at Dartington Hall School, a former boarding-school in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, and at Newnham College at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Career

Tomalin has written several noted biographies. * In 1974 she published her first book ''The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft'', which won the Whitbread Book Award. Since then she has published: * '' Shelley and His World'' (1980) * '' Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life'' (1987) *''The Invisible Woman: The story of

Nelly Ternan Ellen Lawless Ternan (3 March 1839 – 25 April 1914), also known as Nelly Ternan or Nelly Wharton-Robinson, was an English actress known for association with the author Charles Dickens. Birth and family life Ellen Ternan was born in Roches ...

and

'' (1990) NCR Book Award,

Hawthornden Wangsa Maju is a township and a constituency in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This area is surrounded by Setapak, Taman Melati and Gombak district in Selangor. Wangsa Maju is one of the largest townships in Kuala Lumpur and consists of many sections ...

, James Tait Black Prize- now a film * '' Mrs Jordan's Profession'' (1994) * '' Jane Austen: A Life'' (1997) *'' Samuel Pepys: the Unequalled Self'' (2002) Whitbread biography and Book of the Year prizes
Pepys Society Prize
Rose Mary Crawshay Prize. * ''

: The Time-Torn Man'' (2006), followed by a

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

about Hardy, and published a collection of Hardy's poems. * ''

: A Life'' (2011) * ''The Young H. G. Wells: Changing the World'' (2021) * She also edited and introduced

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also ...

's story for children, ''Maurice''. A collection of her reviews, ''Several Strangers'', appeared in 1999. Tomalin organised two exhibitions about the Regency actress Mrs Jordan at Kenwood House in 1995, and about Mary Wollstonecraft and

in 1997. In 2004 she unveiled a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

for Mary Wollstonecraft at 45 Dolben Street,

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, where Wollstonecraft lived from 1788. She has served on the Committee of the London Library, and as a Trustee of the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

and the Wordsworth Trust. She is a Vice-President of the Royal Literary Fund, the Royal Society of Literature and of English PEN. She is also a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communi ...

Personal life

Tomalin married her first husband, fellow Cambridge graduate Nicholas Tomalin, a prominent journalist, in 1955, and they had three daughters and two sons. He was killed while reporting on the Arab-Israeli

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Eg ...

in 1973. She worked in publishing and journalism as literary editor of the ''

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 o ...

'', then ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, wh ...

'', while bringing up her children. She married the novelist and playwright Michael Frayn in 1993. They live in

Petersham, London Petersham is a village in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the east of the bend in the River Thames south of Richmond, which it shares with neighbouring Ham. It provides the foreground of the scenic view from Richmond Hill ...

Awards and honours

James Tait Black Memorial Prize The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, U ...

, ''The Invisible Woman'' (1990) * Hawthornden Prize, ''The Invisible Woman'' (1991) * Whitbread Book Award, ''Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self'' (2002) * Rose Mary Crawshay Prize, ''Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self'' (2003)
Samuel Pepys Award
of the Samuel Pepys Club, ''Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self'' (2003) * Samuel Johnson Prize, shortlist, ''Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self'' (2003) *Honorary Member Magdalene College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

(2003) *Honorary Fellow Lucy Cavendish College,

(2003), Newnham College;

(2004) *Honorary D.Litt: UEA (2005);

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

(2005);

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwic ...

(2006);

(2007);

Goldsmith A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and servicea ...

(2009);

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's underg ...

(2008); Roehampton (2011);

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

(2012) * Costa Book Awards (Biography), shortlist, ''Charles Dickens: A Life'' (2011) * Biographers International Organization Annual Award (2016) * Bodley Medal (2018)

Works

* ''The Young H. G. Wells: Changing the World'' (New York, Penguin Books, 2021) () * ''A Life of My Own'' (London,

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

: A Life'' (New York,

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Wo ...

: The Time-Torn Man'' (New York, Penguin Press, 2007) (). * '' Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self'', (New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 2002) ( or 0-14-028234-3). * '' Jane Austen: A Life'' (Vintage eBooks, 2000) () *
Several Strangers; writing from three decades
' (London, Viking Books, 1999) (); (New York, Penguin, 2000) (). * '' Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life'' (London, Viking, 1987), 1998 (). * '' Mrs. Jordan's Profession: The Story of a Great Actress and a Future King'', 1995 (). * ''The Invisible Woman: The Story of

and Charles Dickens'' (London, Viking, 1990) (New York, Knopf, 1991) (). * '' Shelley and His World'' (London, Thames and Hudson, 1980) (); (New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1980) (). * ''The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft'' (London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1974), 1992 ().

References

External links

Official website
*
Claire Tomalin
at

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 la ...

Literature * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tomalin, Claire 1933 births Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Costa Book Award winners English journalists English biographers Fellows of Newnham College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients Living people Rose Mary Crawshay Prize winners The Sunday Times people Mary Wollstonecraft scholars British women biographers