Peter Conrad (born 1948) is an Australian-born academic specialising in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

, who taught at Christ Church at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a 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 world's second-oldest university in contin ...

. He is a fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, ele ...

. Conrad was born in Hobart, Tasmania, and attended Hobart High School. After graduating from the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

in 1968, Conrad went to Oxford University, UK, on a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world ...

, studying at New College. He became a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

All Souls College All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

from 1970 to 1973 before taking up his current post at Christ Church. There he taught English from 1973, and has been a visiting professor at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

and at

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kille ...

, and a guest lecturer throughout the United States. By 2018 he had retired. His

criticism Criticism is the construction of a judgement about the negative qualities of someone or something. Criticism can range from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. , ''"the act of giving your opinion or judgment about the good or bad q ...

includes a major history of English literature, ''The Everyman History of English Literature'', a

cultural history Cultural history combines the approaches of anthropology and history to examine popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. It examines the records and narrative descriptions of past matter, encompassing the ...

of the twentieth century, two autobiographical works and a novel. He has written books of criticism on

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

and

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

and has been a prolific writer of features and reviews for many magazines and newspapers including ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issue ...

'', ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper Sunday editions, published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group, Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. ...

'', 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 ...

'', and ''

The Monthly ''The Monthly'' is an Australian national magazine of politics, society and the arts, which is published eleven times per year on a monthly basis except the December/January issue. Founded in 2005, it is published by Melbourne property developer ...

''. Reviewing J. R. R. Tolkien's ''

The Silmarillion ''The Silmarillion'' () is a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, assisted by the fantasy author Guy Gavri ...

'' in the ''

'', Conrad stated that "Tolkien can't actually write". A review by Richard Poirier of Conrad's 1980 book, ''Imagining America'', in the ''

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

'' found it so slipshod, with such fundamental and pointedly homophobic misunderstandings

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

Rupert Brooke Rupert Chawner Brooke (3 August 1887 – 23 April 1915)The date of Brooke's death and burial under the Julian calendar that applied in Greece at the time was 10 April. The Julian calendar was 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar. was an En ...

and W. H. Auden, that the reviewer wondered how it made it into print.

Bibliography

* * ''Romantic Opera and Literary Form'', Berkeley & Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1978, * ''Shandyism: The Character of Romantic Irony'', Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1978, * ''Imagining America'', New York: Oxford University Press, 1980, * ''Television: The Medium and its Manners'', Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1982, * ''The Art of the City: Views and Versions of New York'', New York: Oxford University Press, 1984, * ''The Everyman History of English Literature'', London: J. M. Dent, 1985, * ''A Song of Love and Death: The Meaning of Opera'', New York: Poseidon Press, 1987, *
Behind the Mountain: Return to Tasmania
', London: Chatto & Windus, 1988, * ''Where I Fell to Earth: A Life in Four Cities'', New York: Poseidon Press, 1990, * ''Underworld'', Simon & Schuster, 1992, * ''Modern Times, Modern Places: Life and Art in the Twentieth Century'', Thames & Hudson, 1999, * * ''The Hitchock Murders'', Faber & Faber, 2002, * ''At Home in Australia'', Thames & Hudson, 2003, * ''Orson Welles: The Stories of His Life'', Faber & Faber, 2004, * ''Creation: Artists, Gods & Origins'', Thames & Hudson, 2007, * * ''Verdi and/or Wagner: Two Men, Two Worlds, Two Centuries'', Thames & Hudson, 2014, * ''Mythomania: Tales of Our Times'', Thames & Hudson, 2016, * ''Shakespeare: The Theatre of Our World'', Head of Zeus, 2018, * ''The Mysteries of Cinema: Movies and Imagination'', Thames & Hudson, 2021,

References

External links

Faber & Faber's biography
by

Terry Eagleton Terence Francis Eagleton (born 22 February 1943) is an English literary theorist, critic, and public intellectual. He is currently Distinguished Professor of English Literature at Lancaster University. Eagleton has published over forty book ...

: Review of ''Modern Times, Modern Places''.
"Tales of Two Hemispheres" – Peter Conrad

Boyer Lectures The Boyer Lectures are a series of talks by prominent Australians, presenting ideas on major social, scientific or cultural issues, and broadcast on ABC Radio National. The Boyer Lectures began in 1959 as the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commi ...

, 2004,

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

Peter Conrad
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Conrad, Peter 1948 births Living people Alumni of New College, Oxford Australian Rhodes Scholars Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Fellows of Christ Church, Oxford Granta people People from Hobart University of Tasmania alumni