Commonwealth Writers' Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 3 (1989) Winner
Marina Warner
マリナ・サラ・ワーナー
Marina Sarah Warner
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1946-11-09 （Paddington, Middlesex, England）
- Nationality
- British
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Cairo (childhood) → Brussels (childhood) → Cambridge → Berkshire → London (residence and base)
Career
- Occupations
- historian, mythographer, novelist, critic, essayist, professor
- Active Years
- 1969-2025
- Affiliations
- University of Essex (Dept. of Literature, Film and Theatre Studies, former professor), Birkbeck, University of London (Professor of English and Creative Writing), All Souls College, Oxford (Distinguished/Quondam Fellow), Royal Society of Literature (Fellow; former President)
- Memberships
- Royal Society of Literature (Fellow), British Academy (Fellow), All Souls College, Oxford (Fellow)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford | Faculty of Modern Languages | French and Italian | BA | 1964–1967 | United Kingdom |
Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford
Faculty of Modern Languages
/ French and Italian
Degree:
BA
Period:
1964–1967
Year of Graduation:
1967
Country:
United Kingdom
Served as editor of the student magazine The Isis while at Oxford.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Mythopoeic Award | From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers | — | Mythopoeic Society | winner |
| 2000 | Rose Mary Crawshay Prize | No Go the Bogeyman: Scaring, Lulling and Making Mock | English literature | British Academy (Rose Mary Crawshay Prize) | winner |
| 2012 | National Book Critics Circle Award (Criticism) | Stranger Magic: Charmed States & The Arabian Nights | Criticism | National Book Critics Circle | winner |
| 2015 | Holberg Prize | Awarded for her work analysing stories and myths and how they reflect their time and place | — | Holberg Prize Committee | winner |
| 2017 | British Academy Medal | For lifetime achievement | — | British Academy | winner |
| 2017 | World Fantasy Award (Lifetime Achievement) | Lifetime achievement | — | World Fantasy Convention | winner |
| 2015 | Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) | — | — | Order of the British Empire | honour |
| 2008 | Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) | — | — | Order of the British Empire | honour |
| 2013 | Sheikh Zayed Book Award (Arab Culture in Non-Arabic Languages) | Stranger Magic: Charmed States & The Arabian Nights | Arab culture in non-Arabic languages | Sheikh Zayed Book Award Committee | winner |
| 1988 | Booker Prize (shortlist) | The Lost Father | Fiction | The Booker Prize | shortlist |
| 1988 | PEN/Macmillan Silver Pen Award | The Lost Father | — | PEN | winner |
| 1989 | Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia Region, Best Book) | The Lost Father | — | Commonwealth Writers | winner |
| 1999 | Katharine Briggs Folklore Award | No Go the Bogeyman: Scaring, Lulling and Making Mock | — | Folklore Society | winner |
| 2000 | Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres | — | — | French Ministry of Culture | honour |
| 2022 | Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) | — | — | Order of the Companions of Honour | honour |
Mythopoeic Award
1996
Work:
From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers
Organization:
Mythopoeic Society
Result:
winner
Rose Mary Crawshay Prize
2000
Work:
No Go the Bogeyman: Scaring, Lulling and Making Mock
Category:
English literature
Organization:
British Academy (Rose Mary Crawshay Prize)
Result:
winner
National Book Critics Circle Award (Criticism)
2012
Work:
Stranger Magic: Charmed States & The Arabian Nights
Category:
Criticism
Organization:
National Book Critics Circle
Result:
winner
Holberg Prize
2015
Work:
Awarded for her work analysing stories and myths and how they reflect their time and place
Organization:
Holberg Prize Committee
Result:
winner
British Academy Medal
2017
Work:
For lifetime achievement
Organization:
British Academy
Result:
winner
World Fantasy Award (Lifetime Achievement)
2017
Work:
Lifetime achievement
Organization:
World Fantasy Convention
Result:
winner
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
2015
Organization:
Order of the British Empire
Result:
honour
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
2008
Organization:
Order of the British Empire
Result:
honour
Sheikh Zayed Book Award (Arab Culture in Non-Arabic Languages)
2013
Work:
Stranger Magic: Charmed States & The Arabian Nights
Category:
Arab culture in non-Arabic languages
Organization:
Sheikh Zayed Book Award Committee
Result:
winner
Booker Prize (shortlist)
1988
Work:
The Lost Father
Category:
Fiction
Organization:
The Booker Prize
Result:
shortlist
PEN/Macmillan Silver Pen Award
1988
Work:
The Lost Father
Organization:
PEN
Result:
winner
Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia Region, Best Book)
1989
Work:
The Lost Father
Organization:
Commonwealth Writers
Result:
winner
Katharine Briggs Folklore Award
1999
Work:
No Go the Bogeyman: Scaring, Lulling and Making Mock
Organization:
Folklore Society
Result:
winner
Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
2000
Organization:
French Ministry of Culture
Result:
honour
Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH)
2022
Organization:
Order of the Companions of Honour
Result:
honour
Awards & Nominations
Mythopoeic Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 26 (1996) Winner
Sheikh Zayed Book Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 7 (2013) Winner
Truman Capote Award for Literary Criticism
1 appearances
-
Edition 18 (2013) Winner
Works
Major Works
The Dragon Empress: The Life and Times of Tz'u-hsi, Empress Dowager of China, 1835–1908
1972 Non-fiction (biography/history) 320 pagesA biographical study of Empress Dowager Tz'u-hsi (Cixi) and the historical context of her life.
powermodern Chinawomen's history
Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary
1976 Non-fiction (religious history/cultural analysis) 280 pagesA critical study of veneration of the Virgin Mary and its cultural and mythic meanings.
religionmythfemale imagery
From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers
1994 Non-fiction (folklore/literary criticism) 400 pagesAn influential analysis of fairy tales, their tellers and reception from cultural-historical and feminist perspectives.
fairy talesgenderstorytelling
No Go the Bogeyman: Scaring, Lulling, and Making Mock
1998 Non-fiction (folklore/cultural studies) 320 pagesA cultural and historical reflection on the figure of the bogeyman and the practices of frightening and soothing.
fearfolklorechildhood and adulthood
The Lost Father
1988 Fiction (novel) 320 pagesA novel exploring family, memory and personal history. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1988.
familymemoryidentity
Stranger Magic: Charmed States & The Arabian Nights
2011 Non-fiction (literary studies) 384 pagesA critical study using The Arabian Nights as a starting point to discuss magic and enchantment in literature.
magicMiddle Eastern literaturecomparative culture
Inventory of a Life Mislaid: An Unreliable Memoir
2021 Memoir/essays 352 pagesA memoir weaving fragments of memory and life, addressing the unreliability of personal recollection.
memoryselffamily history
Bibliography
- The Dragon Empress: Life and Times of Tz'u-hsi 1835–1908 (1972)
- Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary (1976)
- From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers (1994)
- No Go the Bogeyman: Scaring, Lulling and Making Mock (1998)
- The Lost Father (1988)
- Stranger Magic: Charmed States & The Arabian Nights (2011)
- Once Upon a Time: A Short History of Fairy Tale (2014)
- Inventory of a Life Mislaid: An Unreliable Memoir (2021)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Scholarly yet essayistic and occasionally lyrical proseComparative-cultural approach grounded in wide-ranging sourcesCritical style incorporating feminist perspectives
- Recurring Motifs
- myth and folkloremagic and enchantmentfemale imagery and feminismmemory and storytelling
Legacy
Marina Warner is an internationally respected scholar and writer on myth, fairy tales and cultural analysis; her feminist and comparative approach has reshaped how stories are read. She has also exerted public influence, serving as the first female President of the Royal Society of Literature.
Academic Societies
- Royal Society of Literature
- British Academy
In Popular Culture
- Mentioned as a possible model for the 'lady writer' in Dire Straits' song 'Lady Writer'
Quotes
-
"I've always found it very hard to know what I’m like."
Source: New Statesman (interview) (2021)
Trivia
- First female President of the Royal Society of Literature (2017–2021).
- Her grandfather was cricketer Sir Pelham Warner.
- As a child her family's bookshop in Cairo was burned during the 1952 disturbances.