Michael H. Black is a British

British people

The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

 author and held the position of University Publisher at Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...

.

Early Life & Education

He was born in 1928 in Tempsford

Tempsford

Tempsford is a village and civil parish in the English county of Bedfordshire.The village is split by the A1 Great North Road and is located just before the junction with the A428 at the Black Cat Roundabout...

, Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....

. His parents, Norman Black and Frances Best, were both dental surgeons, originally from Scotland. He grew up in Falmouth

Falmouth, Cornwall

Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....

, where he attended the Grammar School and, under the advice of his headmaster, sat the scholarship exam for Cambridge. He was awarded a minor scholarship to Jesus College, Cambridge

Jesus College, Cambridge

Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...

. He graduated with a first in Modern Languages and English in 1951.

Career

After military service in Austria, he was appointed Assistant Secretary in September 1951. From 1965 until 1978 he held the role of Chief Editor, and from that time until his retirement in 1987, he held the title of University Publisher. Throughout his career Black's special interest was in developing the Press's English literature list. Black was a follower of F.R. Leavis and published the reprints of Leavis' journal Scrutiny. He was also editor of The Cambridge Quarterly. Among the many achievements of Cambridge publishing in his time, was the edition of the complete works of D.H. Lawrence, an author on whom he wrote four titles. He is a fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge

Clare Hall, Cambridge

Clare Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is a college for advanced study, admitting only postgraduate students.Informality is a defining value at Clare Hall and this contributes to its unique character...

.

Publications

He was active as a writer in the latter half of the twentieth century, primarily as a literary critic. His publications include:

• The Literature of Fidelity London : Chatto & Windus, 1975.
• Poetic Drama as Mirror of the Will London : Vision Press, 1977.
• Cambridge University Press: 1584-1984 Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1984.
• D.H. Lawrence: the early fiction: a commentary Basingstoke : Macmillan, 1986.
• D.H. Lawrence: the early philisophical works: a commentary London : Macmillan, 1991.
• D.H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1992.
• Lawrence's England: the major fiction, 1913-20 Basingstoke : Palgrave in association with St Antony's, Oxford, 2001.