Brief Lives: Twentieth-Century Pen Portraits from the Dictionary of National Biography
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Author Description
Drawn from the archives of the Dictionary of National Biography, this collection of sharply drawn portraits offers a rich cross-section of the men and women who shaped Britain's identity in the twentieth century. The DNB is an unrivalled record of modern British thought and achievement, combining critical insight with lively prose, entertaining anecdotes, and private data. Brief Lives contains many of the best articles from the twentieth-century supplements to the DNB, collected for the first time in a single, affordable volume. Both insightful and witty, and sometimes surprisingly frank, these are definitive, diverse, and often intimate biographical sketches--most were written by people who knew their subjects personally.Here, writers, artists, and musicians rub shoulders with scientists, industrialists, politicians, and soldiers in a unique and highly readable anthology of national endeavour. From Laura Ashley to P.G. Wodehouse, from Tony Hancock to Bertrand Russell, Brief Lives presents no fewer than 150 fresh and enlightening snapshots of British life and culture in modern times.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This collection investigates the defining figures of twentieth-century Britain by curating biographical portraits from the Dictionary of National Biography. Colin Matthew, a distinguished historian and editor of the DNB, compiles these entries to provide a comprehensive look at the individuals who shaped the nation's cultural, political, and scientific landscape. The work argues that these intimate, often first-hand accounts offer a more nuanced understanding of national identity than standard historical records.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- 150 biographical sketches of notable British figures from the twentieth century
- Diverse professional backgrounds including artists, politicians, scientists, and soldiers
- First-hand accounts written by contemporaries of the subjects
Scope Limits
- The collection is limited to entries found within the twentieth-century supplements of the DNB
- It does not provide exhaustive full-length biographies, focusing instead on concise portraits
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Experts and historians frequently cite this volume as a highly accessible entry point into the vast archives of the Dictionary of National Biography. Readers often note the balance between scholarly rigor and the engaging, anecdotal nature of the prose.
Page Count:
624
Publication Date:
2000-01-13
ISBN-10:
0192800892
ISBN-13:
9780192800893
History
Biography
Non-Fiction
Great Britain
British History
Anthology