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Claire Harman

クレア・ハーマン

Kurea Hāman

Profile

Gender
Female
Nationality
United Kingdom
Languages
English
Residence History
London (residence) → Oxford (teaching) → Manchester (teaching) → Durham (teaching) → New York (teaching at Columbia University)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Biographer, Literary critic, Short story writer, Academic / Lecturer
Active Years
1989-
Affiliations
Durham University, Royal Society of Literature (Fellow)
Memberships
Royal Society of Literature (Fellow)

Awards

John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
1989
Work: Sylvia Townsend Warner (biography)
Organization: Booktrust (former organiser)
Result: 受賞
Forward Prize for Best Single Poem
2015
Work: The Mighty Hudson
Category: Best Single Poem
Organization: Forward Prizes / Poetry Society
Result: 受賞
ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award
2016
Work: Short story (specific title not specified)
Organization: The Society of Authors / ALCS
Result: 受賞
Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
2006
Organization: Royal Society of Literature
Result: 選出

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Sylvia Townsend Warner

1989 Biography

A biography of poet and writer Sylvia Townsend Warner, detailing her life, literary background and personal history.

biographical study20th-century British literature

Fanny Burney: A Biography

2000 Biography

A biography focusing on the life and literary significance of Fanny Burney (Frances Burney).

women writers18th–19th century literature

Robert Louis Stevenson

2005 Biography

A biography tracing the life and work of Robert Louis Stevenson, covering his travels, health and literary concerns.

travel and explorationVictorian literature

Charlotte Brontë: A Life

2015 Biography

A well-balanced biography of Charlotte Brontë which received favorable reviews in outlets such as The Guardian.

Victorian women writersfamily and creativity

Murder by the Book: The Crime That Shocked Dickens's London

2019 Non-fiction (history/crime)

A historical non-fiction account of a real crime in Victorian London and its social repercussions.

Victorian eracrime history

All Sorts of Lives: Katherine Mansfield and the Art of Risking Everything

2023 Biography

A biography of Katherine Mansfield offering a fresh perspective on her life and work; a recent return to literary biography.

modernismwomen writers and risk

Bibliography

  • Sylvia Townsend Warner (1989)
  • Fanny Burney: A Biography (2000)
  • Robert Louis Stevenson (2005)
  • Jane's Fame (2009)
  • Charlotte Brontë: A Life (2015)
  • Charlotte Brontë: A Fiery Heart (2016)
  • Murder by the Book: The Crime That Shocked Dickens's London (2019)
  • All Sorts of Lives: Katherine Mansfield and the Art of Risking Everything (2023)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
scholarly yet clear prosebiographical writing that is academic but accessible
Recurring Motifs
lives and reputations of women writerscontext from Victorian to modernist periodsbiographical re-evaluation

Legacy

Claire Harman is a highly regarded biographer and critic of modern and contemporary English literature, contributing to studies of Brontë, Austen and Mansfield. Her work combines scholarly rigour with accessibility for general readers.

Academic Societies

  • Royal Society of Literature

Trivia

  • Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (2006)
  • Winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize (1989)
  • Winner of the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem (2015)
  • Winner of the ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award (2016)
  • Judge of the J.R. Ackerley Prize
  • Official website: http://www.claireharman.com/