Max Saunders (born 24 June 1957) is a British academic and writer specialising in modern literature. He is the author of ''Imagined Futures: Writing, Science, and Modernity in the To-Day and To-Morrow Book Series, 1923-31'', ''Ford Madox Ford: A Dual Life'', and ''Self Impression: Life-Writing,

Autobiografiction Autobiografiction is a literary fiction genre that blends autobiography with fiction; it fictionalizes autobiographical experiences, often by altering them, attributing them to fictional characters or reinventing them into other experiences. The c ...

, and the Forms of Modern Literature''. He is the editor of the Oxford World’s Classics edition of Ford’s ''The Good Soldier'', and of four volumes of Ford Madox Ford’s writing including ''Some Do Not …'', the first book for Ford’s First World War tetralogy Parade’s End for Carcanet Press. Professor Max Saunders

From 2014 to 2019 Saunders led the Ego-Media Project: a collaborative interdisciplinary project on life writing and the digital age, based in the King's College London Centre for Life-Writing Research, and funded by an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council.

Biography

Saunders was educated at

Sevenoaks School Sevenoaks School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school. It is co-educational, a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school, located in Sevenoaks, Kent, England. Established in 1432, it ...

in Kent, and won an entrance scholarship to

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

. After receiving a master's degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, he returned to Cambridge, where he took his PhD under the supervision of

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 ...

and

Tony Tanner Tony Tanner (27 July 1932 – 8 September 2020) was a British stage, film and television actor and a Tony-nominated theatre director and choreographer. Career Training and early career Tanner graduated from the Webber Douglas Academy of Drama ...

. He was a research fellow and then college lecturer at

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Selwyn (bishop of Lichfield), Georg ...

, before moving to

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

in 1989, teaching modern English, European, and American literature. He became professor of English in 2000, co-director of the Centre for Life-Writing Research in 2007, and director of the Arts and Humanities Research Institute at King's College, London from 2012 to 2018. In 2007, he was awarded a Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship for his work on the To-Day and To-Morrow book series. Saunders became interdisciplinary professor of modern literature and culture at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

in September 2019. He is the stepson of the painter

Alfred Cohen Alfred Cohen (1920–2001) was an American artist whose art was firmly rooted in the European tradition; he was inspired in particular by the ''commedia dell'arte''; and by the colour and handling of the Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionists an ...

(1920-2001), and co-edited (with Sarah MacDougall) the book: ''Alfred Cohen -- An American Artist in Europe: Between Figuration and Abstraction'' (London: Ben Uri Exhibitions /Wighton: The Alfred Cohen Art Foundation, 2020)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Max Harvard University alumni 1957 births 21st-century British male writers Academics of the University of Cambridge Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Academics of King's College London Academics of the University of Birmingham British expatriates in the United States Living people People educated at Sevenoaks School