Comments on things mean a lot: The Sunday Salon - Literary Biographies: A Reading...

What a terrific list! I really enjoyed the Gaskell...

2010-08-27T01:41:23.553+01:00

What a terrific list! I really enjoyed the Gaskell biography, for the exact reason that you've mentioned wanting to read it. I also did just what you said and read it alongside a modern bio of the sisters, that by Juliet Barker that's also recommended above. A wonderful pairing! For a biography with a very different kind of feel, I'm very fond of Carol Shields' Jane Austen, one of those slim Penguin Lives bios. Enjoy your reading!

Teresa: Thank you for the recommendations! And enj...

2010-08-26T17:11:48.271+01:00

Teresa: Thank you for the recommendations! And enjoy the Hardy bio. I'd love to read it some day if only because he lived in a time period that interests me so much, but I suppose I should read him first :P

Clare: I didn't know about Astin's biography, but it does sound like a great read. And I'd love to read one of Byron too. And Shelley, and Keats. I find the whole romantic gang fascinating to read about.

Melissa: I didn't know Prose had written about Anne Frank! And the Louisa May Alcott bio sounds excellent too.

Stu: I have Marquez's Living to Tell the Tale but have yet to get to it... someday, someday.

Debi: I hope you do enjoy the posts!

Sibylle: I guess I was hoping the primary and secondary sources on the Mitfords to complement each other. But I will read their own books before anything else. and thank you for the good luck wishes!

Kathy: It is funny! And always slightly alarming when I catch myself at it :P

JoAnn: I'd love to get my hands on the Whaton bio too. But I should probably read more of her books first.

Readerbuzz: You're most welcome!

Amanda: I want to read the Quentin Bell biography too - he sounds like he himself was interesting, so I'm hoping it'll be like Gaskell on Brontë. But I'd also love to complement it with Lee's for historical perspective.

Claire: That's exactly what I was hoping to hear about the Lovell bio. And thank you so much for the recommendations!

Frances: I've yet to read Muriel Sparks, but I'll keep the biography in mind for after I do - she's an author I think I'll really, really like.

Alice: No worries - after this post I have recommendations to last me a while :P

C.B. James: Thank you for the suggestions! And that's an excellent point you make about a whole life not being necessarily interesting to read about. A more limited scope does have its advantages.

Amy: Don't they? I hope I can get my hands on some soon!

Emily Jane: I hope you'll enjoy yours and I'll enjoy mine!

Trisha: Hopefully the library at my new location will have it *fingers crossed*

litlove: Now that I think of it, I think Virginia Nicholson's Among the Bohemians classified as a group biography, and it's one of my favourite non-fiction reads of the year. I loved it for the very reasons you pointed out, and I love the sounds of the ones you mentioned!

Pickygirl: Yes, it can be difficult. I always hope that a biography of an interesting person will be good, but that's not necessarily true.

Susan: Tomalin on Jane Austen sounds like something not to be missed! Thank you for all the recommendations, my dear :)

Stephanie: It sounds like it!

I quite enjoy some biographies, but usually only a...

2010-08-24T19:26:08.457+01:00

I quite enjoy some biographies, but usually only after the person is dead, horrible as that sounds, and generally long enough ago so that they're more academic/historical and not sensational. I started Hermione Lee's biography of Virginia Woolf but then moved before I finished and had to return it to the library. It was excellent, but so in depth that it was slow going. I've also meant to read one of Clare Tomalin's biographies, as she is reputed to be quite good.

I'm not a fan of biographies, and last year...

2010-08-24T16:09:01.320+01:00

I'm not a fan of biographies, and last year's experience (I read some in an attempt to widen my usual reading patterns) just confirmed that, although I have the highly recommended Paris to the Moon on my tbr pile.

But E. Nesbit is one of my favorite children's authors ever--I want to hear what you think about that one. Maybe I'll even look it up myself.

Nymeth...I found the link to my review on The Bolt...

2010-08-24T13:55:37.949+01:00

Nymeth...I found the link to my review on The Bolter.

http://bookwormsdinner.blogspot.com/2009/09/book-review-bolter-by-frances-osborne.html

Hope you'll read this one. If you do, let me know what you think. :)

My mom got me started on biographies as a kid. I s...

2010-08-24T13:51:16.035+01:00

My mom got me started on biographies as a kid. I still love them. I appreciate your list. I have one for you I think you will love. The Bolter by Frances Osborne. I did a review for some magazine last year. Here is the link to Amazon...

http://www.amazon.com/Bolter-Vintage-Frances-Osborne/dp/0307476421/ref=sr_1_1/188-4724153-2175207?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282654162&sr=8-1
Idina Sackville was a hoot!!!

I love reading literary biographies, although I ha...

2010-08-24T12:58:58.928+01:00

I love reading literary biographies, although I haven't read any on your list. I guess I tend to read more autobiographical essays, but anything to do with writers is fine by me. I look forward to your posts on them.

You've picked a great crop for your reading li...

2010-08-24T09:29:28.739+01:00

You've picked a great crop for your reading list. So many interesting people on here and lots of biography writers I've heard great things about.

As you've maybe guessed I am bad at getting round to reading non-fiction, but I have good intentions. And the Christina Rossetti biography sounds really good (that is a sad title isn't it, does it refer to her brother being first?). Adding to the list.

I don't read too many biographies, but I did r...

2010-08-24T02:40:45.813+01:00

I don't read too many biographies, but I did read and enjoy L.M. Montgomery's biography (the one by Mary Henley Rubio - The Gift of Wings).

These biographies look great. Woolf and Capote are...

2010-08-24T01:27:04.023+01:00

These biographies look great. Woolf and Capote are of special interest to me.

Hope you have a great week!

I've never been a big fan of biographies altho...

2010-08-23T22:36:35.794+01:00

I've never been a big fan of biographies although I do read quite a bit of nonfiction. My mother on the other hand reads biographies almost exclusively. I'm not sure if she's read any of those you've listed but I will have to ask her.

Thanks for this list, I've been wanting to add...

2010-08-23T17:21:03.273+01:00

Thanks for this list, I've been wanting to add some more biographies to my TBR pile. I am particularly intrigued by the Christina Rossetti and Mary Wollstonecraft ones as both are authors I admire a great deal.

I would also like to second the recommendation of John Adams by David McCullough, I've just started reading it and I can't speak highly enough about it. I wish McCullough would write a biography about Abigail Adams, it would be excellent.

Add me to the list of huge Hermione Lee fans - I a...

2010-08-23T17:14:03.388+01:00

Add me to the list of huge Hermione Lee fans - I adored both her Woolf and Wharton bios. (Oddly, the same family connection between Quentin Bell & Woolf that Amanda likes is a big turn-off to me, especially since Woolf's family was key in establishing the "delicate lady suicide" image that still plagues her image and which I went off about in your post about The Hours, haha.)

I've heard fantastic things about that Capote bio, and I also very much enjoyed Ellman's book on Oscar Wilde.

wow.. It's strange but I've had the book T...

2010-08-23T12:26:10.051+01:00

wow.. It's strange but I've had the book The Sisters in my hands more than once at bookstores but I keep leaving it there.. I know one day I will walk home with it!

I love lierary biographies. I've read about Vi...

2010-08-23T02:01:05.488+01:00

I love lierary biographies. I've read about Virginia Woolf, Dorothy Parker, Edna St Vincent Millay, Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath. Hmm, a lot of those are kind of dark

I haven't read very many biographies at all, a...

2010-08-23T01:56:17.198+01:00

I haven't read very many biographies at all, and some of the ones on your reading list look really good. I am going to sit back and glean a little from your reviews on some of these and see which ones I might like!

I tend to shuffle biographies to the bottom of my ...

2010-08-23T01:08:13.570+01:00

I tend to shuffle biographies to the bottom of my TBR pile. I need to stop this habit, first with Lives Like Loaded Guns. I am adding Virginia Woolf and Capote to my list.

You know...I often say things like "I'm n...

2010-08-23T00:20:43.287+01:00

You know...I often say things like "I'm not a fan of biographies" but every one that I've read I've been a huge fan of. One of my favorites ever is Dream Homes...that one that my professor wrote about being a gay sephardic jew in the US. So beautiful. I've read so many other great ones too. I really would like to read more of them...Including that Capote biography! That sounds awesome.

I love biographies. John Adams was excellent. I ha...

2010-08-22T20:15:21.738+01:00

I love biographies. John Adams was excellent. I have the Mitford one, but I haven't read it yet. I like Weir and Fraser. Ummmmmm. I'm drawing a blank now. Yikes. Oh the Einstein biography was good. There is a good one about Isak Dinesen. Oh I'm no help.

I've never been a fan of biographies. I don&#...

2010-08-22T19:54:20.157+01:00

I've never been a fan of biographies. I don't really know why. They just don't interest me, even though when a book or other work of art connects with the author/artist's life, I find that very interesting. But a whole book about one person's life? Eugh. Just the thought kind of exhausts me.

I highly recommend Margaret Forster's biograph...

2010-08-22T19:16:14.967+01:00

I highly recommend Margaret Forster's biography of Daphne du Maurier:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Daphne-Du-Maurier-Margaret-Forster/dp/0099333317/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282500428&sr=8-1

I don't read many literary biographies, but they are pretty much the only biographies I DO read. I'm not into them in general, but if I love an author I will occasionally try a biog. Especially if it's written by a novelist - as the du Maurier one is.

I currently have Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life (Claire Tomalin) sitting on my scary TBR stack. I'll let you know what I think! :)

Cheers,
Kaz

p.s. Great post!

I like biographies, but I haven't read one in ...

2010-08-22T18:38:03.325+01:00

I like biographies, but I haven't read one in years. I like the list you've developed. I'm particularly interested in the biography of Virginia Woolf.

I really like the biographer Claire Tomalin - I di...

2010-08-22T18:13:45.736+01:00

I really like the biographer Claire Tomalin - I did actually read part, and enjoy that part of The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft before I went and lost the bloody book and it was really good.

I have read two others of Tomalin - and as you've already heard - she is really, really good. I haven't really read any other biographies other then ones by her but she writes so incredibly well you feel like you really do know the person she's writing about.

I read her one on Samuel Pepys the diarist (very very good) and on Jane Austen which was really really lovely.

A lot of the biographies I read also tend to invol...

2010-08-22T17:55:13.489+01:00

A lot of the biographies I read also tend to involve writers... One of my favorites is Peter Ackroyd's Blake: A Biography, mostly because I love Blake's ideas and Ackroyd makes him really approachable. One biography I've been meaning to get around to is Gay Daly's Pre-Raphaelite's In Love because I love the Pre-Raphs and their curious relationships intrigue me in a steamy, Tabloid sort of way :)

I really enjoy biographies, not just about literar...

2010-08-22T17:50:35.183+01:00

I really enjoy biographies, not just about literary people, but people in general. I find humanity interesting. I think my favorite is My Life in France about Julia Child. But then I also swing to the opposite end of the spectrum and read one about Monica Lewinsky (!). And I actually liked it!