Most bibiographes list the external facts and yet quite miss the mystery and uniqueness of the person under investigation. Why? The aim of this thesis is, first, to evaluate the principal contemporary methodologies for constructing 'literary biographies' (i.e. life histories of writers, actors, musicians, and so forth, based on empirical study of factual data, and offering interpretations of the life and of its cultural reputation) and. secondly, to propose a specific approach to the genre that can produce more instructive and informative literary lives. The thesis is a practice-based study, consisting of a written submission which reflects on, and is supported by, examples of the biographical craft being considered - specifically, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (1994 ), The Real Life of Laurence Olivier (1996), The Man Who Was Private Widdle: Charles Hawtrey ( 2001) and Anthony Burgess ( 2002). These experimental works were written partly to explore the problems and procedures of biographical methodologies, and to extend the field of knowledge within which literary biographies operate.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:494570 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Lewis, Roger |
| Publisher | University of Hertfordshire |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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