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Brenda Maddox

ブレンダ・マドックス

Brenda Maddox

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1932-02-24 （Bridgewater, Massachusetts, U.S.）
Died
2019-06-16 （London, England） age 87
Nationality
United States, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Residence History
London (long-term residence) → Near Brecon, Wales (cottage)

Career

Occupations
biographer, journalist, book reviewer, broadcast commentator
Active Years
1953-2019
Affiliations
Hay Festival (vice-president), British Journalism Review (Editorial Board), Broadcasting Press Guild (former chair)
Memberships
Royal Society of Literature, Broadcasting Press Guild

Education

Harvard University
Faculty of Arts and Sciences / English Literature
Degree: BA
Period: 1949–1953
Year of Graduation: 1953
Country: United States
Graduated in English literature
London School of Economics
Country: United Kingdom
Studied/attended; specific details unknown

Awards

Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL)
1999
Organization: Royal Society of Literature
Result: 選出
Suffrage Science award
2011
Organization: Suffrage Science / MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences
Result: 受賞
Los Angeles Times Biography Award
Organization: Los Angeles Times
Result: 受賞（年不詳）
Silver PEN Award
Organization: PEN
Result: 受賞（年不詳）
Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger
Result: 受賞（年不詳）
Whitbread Biography Prize
Result: 受賞（年不詳）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA

2002 biography 320 pages

A biography tracing Rosalind Franklin's life and achievements, examining her role in DNA research and the shifting recognition of her contributions.

history of sciencewomen in sciencerecognition of contribution

Nora: A Biography of Nora Joyce

1988 biography 352 pages

A biography that illuminates the life of Nora Barnacle (Nora Joyce), reconstructing her relationship with James Joyce based on documentary evidence.

literary historyprivate life and creationwomen's history
Adaptations
  • [film] Nora / Pat O'Connor (2000)

James Watson

2017 biography

A biography of Nobel laureate James Watson, detailing his life and scientific work (published 2017).

history of sciencegeneticsportrait of a scientist

Bibliography

  • Beyond Babel: New Directions in Communications (1972)
  • The Half-Parent: Living with Other People's Children (1975)
  • Who's Afraid of Elizabeth Taylor? A Myth of Our Time (1977)
  • Nora: A Biography of Nora Joyce (1988)
  • D. H. Lawrence: The Story of a Marriage (1994)
  • Yeats's Ghosts: The Secret Life of W. B. Yeats (1999)
  • Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA (2002)
  • Maggie: The First Lady (2004)
  • Freud's Wizard: The Enigma of Ernest Jones (2006)
  • George Eliot: Novelist, Lover, Wife (2009)
  • Reading the Rocks: How Victorian Geologists Discovered the Secret of Life (2017)
  • James Watson (2017)

Adaptations

  • Nora (2000 film) – adaptation based on Maddox's biography of Nora Joyce

Style & Themes

Literary Style
clear, factual biographical prosedetailed, primary-source-driven narrative
Recurring Motifs
private lives of women and public recognitionreassessment of scientists' and writers' reputations

Legacy

Brenda Maddox is highly regarded as a biographer who reassessed overlooked figures in literature and science. Based in London, she received several major awards and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Academic Societies

  • Royal Society of Literature

In Popular Culture

  • Film 'Nora' (2000), based on Maddox's biography of Nora Joyce

Trivia

  • Born Brenda Murphy.
  • Married John Maddox in 1960 and wrote numerous biographies of women and scientists.
  • Her biography 'Nora' was adapted into the film 'Nora' (2000).
  • Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1999.
  • Received the Suffrage Science award in 2011.