Richard Gordon Heath Holmes, OBE,

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

, FBA (born 5 November 1945) is a British author and academic best known for his biographical studies of major figures of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and French

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

Biography

Richard Gordon Heath Holmes was born on 5 November 1945 in London. He was educated at

Downside School Downside School (formally The College of St Gregory the Great, Downside but simply referred to as Downside) is an 11–18 mixed, Roman Catholic, independent, day and boarding school in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Somerset, England. It was establish ...

, Somerset, and

Churchill College, Cambridge Churchill College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. It has a primary focus on science, engineering and technology, but retains a strong interest in the arts ...

. He is a fellow of The Royal Society of Literature and a Fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

. He was professor of Biographical Studies at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

from 2001 to 2007 and has honorary doctorates from the

University of East London University of East London (UEL) is a public university located in the London Borough of Newham, London, England, based at three campuses in Stratford, London, Stratford and London Docklands, Docklands, following the opening of University Squar ...

, University of Kingston, and the Tavistock Institute. In the 1992 Birthday Honours, he was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE). He lives in London and

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

with his wife, British novelist

Rose Tremain Dame Rose Tremain (born 2 August 1943) is an English novelist, short story writer, and former Chancellor of the University of East Anglia. Life Rose Tremain was born Rosemary Jane Thomson on 2 August 1943 in London to Viola Mabel Thomson and ...

Literary biography

Holmes's major works of Romantic biography include: ''Shelley: The Pursuit'' which won him the Somerset Maugham Award in 1974; ''Coleridge: Early Visions'', which won him the 1989 Whitbread Book of the Year Prize (now the

Costa Book Awards The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in United Kingdom, UK and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first ...

); ''Coleridge: Darker Reflections'', the second and final volume of his Coleridge biography which won the Duff Cooper Prize and the Heinemann Award; and ''Dr. Johnson and Mr. Savage'', concerning the friendship between eighteenth-century British literary figures

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

and Richard Savage, which won the James Tait Black Prize. Holmes is also the author of two studies of European biography. '' Footsteps: Adventures of a Romantic Biographer'' is a highly acclaimed volume of memoirs and personal reflections on the biographer's art and '' Sidetracks: Explorations of a Romantic Biographer'' collects his shorter pieces, including an early, groundbreaking essay on

Thomas Chatterton Thomas Chatterton (20 November 1752 – 24 August 1770) was an English poet whose precocious talents ended in suicide at age 17. He was an influence on Romantic artists of the period such as Shelley, Keats, Wordsworth and Coleridge. Alth ...

and an introductory account of the lives and works of

Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft ( , ; 27 April 175910 September 1797) was an English writer and philosopher best known for her advocacy of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional ...

and

William Godwin William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. Godwin is most famous fo ...

. He is editor of the Harper Perennial series Classic Biographies, launched in 2004. His 2005 monograph on biography and portraiture for the National Portrait Gallery, ''Insights: The Romantic Poets and their Circle'', was unusual in that it included scientists alongside literary writers. He has also written many drama-documentaries for

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

, most recently The ''Frankenstein Experiment'' (2002), and ''A Cloud in a Paper Bag'' (2007) about 18th century balloon mania. October 2008 saw his first major work of biography in over a decade, ''The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science'', published by HarperPress. In it he explores the scientific ferment that swept across Britain at the end of 18th century. Holmes proposes a radical vision of

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

before

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

, exploring the earliest ideas of deep time and deep space, the creative rivalry with the French scientific establishment, and the startling impact of discovery on great writers and poets such as

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

, Coleridge,

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

and Keats. The book received wide review coverage (see below), was featured on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's '' Book of the Week'' and became a best-seller. In ''Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air'' (2013), Holmes approaches the history of ballooning by presenting biographies of French, English, and American balloonists. The personalities and experiences of those involved are varied and surprising. Balloons were used successfully to send information out of besieged Paris in 1870, and unsuccessfully to fly to the North Pole in the 1890s, to name only two examples. In Holmes' history of ballooning, science meets showmanship and both literary flights and actual adventures capture the imagination.

Bibliography

* ''One for Sorrow'' (Poems – published by Cafe Books in 1970) * ''Shelley: The Pursuit'' (Published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson in 1974, current edition published by HarperPerennial ) * ''My Fantoms'' by

Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rema ...

(Edited and translated – Published by Quartet Books in 1976, reprinted by the New York Review of Books, 2008, ) * ''Shelley on Love: Selected Writings'' (Published by Anvil Books in 1980, current edition published by HarperPress ) * ''Coleridge (Past Masters)'' (Published by Oxford University Press in 1982) * ''Nerval: The Chimeras'' (translated by Peter Jay with an introduction by Holmes, Published by Anvil Press in 1985) * '' Footsteps: Adventures of a Romantic Biographer'' (Published by Hodder and Stoughton in 1985, current edition published by HarperPerennial ) * ''Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin: A Short Residence in Sweden and Memoirs'' (Published by Penguin Classics in 1987) * ''Kipling: Something of Myself'' (Co-author with Robert Hampson – (Published in Penguin Classics in 1987) * ''De Feministe en De Filosoof (Published in Amsterdam in 1988) * ''Coleridge: Early Visions'' (Published by Hodder and Stoughton in 1989, current edition published by HarperPerennial ) * ''Dr Johnson and Mr. Savage'' (Published Hodder and Stoughton in 1993, current edition published by HarperPerennial ) * ''Coleridge: Selected Poems'' (Editor – Published by HarperPress in 1996 ) * ''Coleridge: Darker Reflections'' (Published by HarperPress in 1998, current edition published by HarperPerennial ) * '' Sidetracks: Explorations of a Romantic Biographer'' (Published by HarperPress in 2000, current edition published by HarperPerennial ) * '' The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science'' (Published by HarperPress in 2008 ) * ''Falling Upwards: How we Took to the Air'' (Published by William Collins in 2013 ) * '' This Long Pursuit: Reflections of a Romantic Biographer'' (Published by William Collins in 2016 ) Classic Biographies Series (HarperPerennial) edited by Richard Holmes * ''Defoe on Sheppard and Wild: The True and Genuine Account of the Life and Actions of the Late

Jonathan Wild Jonathan Wild, also spelled Wilde (1682 or 1683 – 24 May 1725), was an English thief-taker and a major figure in London's criminal underworld, notable for operating on both sides of the law, posing as a public-spirited vigilante entitled th ...

'' by

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, merchant and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translati ...

(2004, ) * ''Southey on Nelson: The Life of Nelson'' by Robert Southey (2004, ) * ''Scott on Zélide: Portrait of Zélide'' by Geoffrey Scott (2004, ) * ''Johnson on Savage: The Life of Mr Richard Savage'' by

(2005, ) * ''Godwin on Wollstonecraft: The Life of Mary Wollstonecraft'' by

(2005, ) * ''Gilchrist on Blake: The Life of William Blake'' by Alexander Gilchrist (2005, )

References

* Renders, Hans and de Haan, Binne, ‘Richard Holmes : A biographer-historian par excellence. Uncovering the roots and methodology of the modern field work of a romantic and humanistic Biographer’, Les Grandes figures historiques dans les lettres et les arts n ligne n° 6bis (2017), URL: http://figures-historiques.revue.univ-lille3.fr/6bis-2017-issn-2261-0871/, p. 38-53.

External links

* *
Transcript of interview
with Ramona Koval, The Book Show, ABC Radio National.
Richard Holmes page at HarperCollinsThe British AcademyRichard Holmes author page and article archive
from ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...

''
Richard Holmes as guest on ''The Infinite Monkey Cage'', BBC Radio 4 broadcast, "Science Museum," 23 July 2013
''The Age of Wonder'' press coverage
Richard Holmes interview
with the '' Radiolab''
Review in the ''Independent'', September 26, 2008''The Times'' review, September 26, 2008"Following his footsteps" Interview in the ''Guardian'', Saturday September 27, 2008''Spectator'' review, October 15, 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Richard 1946 births Living people Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Academics of the University of East Anglia People educated at Downside School Alumni of Churchill College, Cambridge Fellows of Churchill College, Cambridge Fellows of the British Academy Officers of the Order of the British Empire James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients American Book Award winners Mary Wollstonecraft scholars National Book Critics Circle Award winners