Miranda Seymour
Encyclopedia
Miranda Jane Seymour is an English
literary critic, novelist, and biographer.
Miranda Seymour was two years old when her parents moved into Thrumpton Hall
, the family's ancestral home in Nottinghamshire. This celebrated Jacobean
mansion is on the south bank of the River Trent
at the secluded village of Thrumpton. Miranda was raised by a father, George Fitzroy Seymour
, who loved racing motorbikes and classic cars. An author of children's books, novels, and several biographies, Miranda Seymour has also contributed to a number of leading newspapers and literary journals, including The New York Times
, The Los Angeles Times, The London Review of Books, The Guardian
, The Sunday Times
, The Times Literary Supplement
, and The Economist
. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
and, in recent years, a visiting Professor of English Studies at the Nottingham Trent University
, Seymour is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
.
In 1972 she married the novelist and historian Andrew Sinclair and had a son, Merlin; her second marriage, to Anthony Gottlieb, then executive editor of The Economist
and author of a history of Western philosophy, ended in 2003. A transatlantic literary room-swap has led to her third marriage, in 2006, to Ted Lynch, a Bostonian. Miranda Seymour divides her time between London and Thrumpton Hall, now dually used by the family and for weddings and corporate events.
In 2001, Miranda Seymour came across material on Hellé Nice
, a glamorous, long forgotten French Grand Prix racing driver from the 1930s. After extensive research on a well-buried subject, Seymour published a highly acclaimed book (2004) about Hellé Nice's extraordinary and ultimately tragic life. Her most recent publication is In My Father's House: Elegy for an Obsessive Love (Simon and Schuster, UK). The same book is published in the US as Thrumpton Hall
(Harper Collins) and has won the 2008 Pen Ackerley Prize for Memoir of the Year. Always attracted by unusual and challenging subjects, she has most recently published the life of a thirties film star, Virginia Cherrill, basing her work upon a substantial archive in private ownership.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
literary critic, novelist, and biographer.
Miranda Seymour was two years old when her parents moved into Thrumpton Hall
Thrumpton Hall
Thrumpton Hall is an English country house in the village of Thrumpton near Nottingham.-History:The mansion is on the site of an older house which was occupied by the Roman Catholic Powdrell family who were evicted following the Gunpowder Plot....
, the family's ancestral home in Nottinghamshire. This celebrated Jacobean
Jacobean architecture
The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James I of England, with whose reign it is associated.-Characteristics:...
mansion is on the south bank of the River Trent
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
at the secluded village of Thrumpton. Miranda was raised by a father, George Fitzroy Seymour
George Fitzroy Seymour
George Fitzroy Seymour was High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire in 1960 and Deputy Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire.-Family:...
, who loved racing motorbikes and classic cars. An author of children's books, novels, and several biographies, Miranda Seymour has also contributed to a number of leading newspapers and literary journals, including The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The Los Angeles Times, The London Review of Books, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
, The Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement is a weekly literary review published in London by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation.-History:...
, and The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...
and, in recent years, a visiting Professor of English Studies at the Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University is a public teaching and research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as a new university in 1992 from the existing Trent Polytechnic , however it can trace its roots back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham Government School of Design...
, Seymour is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity...
.
In 1972 she married the novelist and historian Andrew Sinclair and had a son, Merlin; her second marriage, to Anthony Gottlieb, then executive editor of The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
and author of a history of Western philosophy, ended in 2003. A transatlantic literary room-swap has led to her third marriage, in 2006, to Ted Lynch, a Bostonian. Miranda Seymour divides her time between London and Thrumpton Hall, now dually used by the family and for weddings and corporate events.
In 2001, Miranda Seymour came across material on Hellé Nice
Hellé Nice
Hellé Nice was a model, dancer, and a Grand Prix motor racing driver.- Early life and fast lifestyle :...
, a glamorous, long forgotten French Grand Prix racing driver from the 1930s. After extensive research on a well-buried subject, Seymour published a highly acclaimed book (2004) about Hellé Nice's extraordinary and ultimately tragic life. Her most recent publication is In My Father's House: Elegy for an Obsessive Love (Simon and Schuster, UK). The same book is published in the US as Thrumpton Hall
Thrumpton Hall (book)
Thrumpton Hall: A Memoir of Life in My Father’s House is a work published in 2007 by Miranda Seymour.The book describes, from the perspective of his alienated daughter, the life and times of the little-known George FitzRoy Seymour , proprietor of a declining English country estate in...
(Harper Collins) and has won the 2008 Pen Ackerley Prize for Memoir of the Year. Always attracted by unusual and challenging subjects, she has most recently published the life of a thirties film star, Virginia Cherrill, basing her work upon a substantial archive in private ownership.
Fiction
- The Stones of Maggiare (1975)
- Count Manfred (1976)
- Daughter of Darkness (1977)
- Goddess (1979)
- Madonna of the Island (1980)
- Medea (1981)
- Carrying On (1984)
- The Reluctant Devil (1990)
- The Summer of '39 (1998) published in the UK as The Telling
Juvenile fiction
- Mumtaz the Magical Cat (1984)
- Caspar and the Secret Kingdom (1986)
- The Vampire of Verdonia (1986)
- Pierre and the Pamplemousse (1989)
Non fiction
- A Ring of Conspirators: Henry JamesHenry JamesHenry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
and his literary circle, 1895-1915 (1988) - Ottoline Morrell: Life on the Grand Scale (1993)
- Robert GravesRobert GravesRobert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...
: Life on the Edge (1995) - Mary ShelleyMary ShelleyMary Shelley was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus . She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley...
(2001) - Brief History of Thyme (2002)
- The Bugatti Queen: In Search of a Motor-Racing Legend (2004)
- In My Father's House (2007) Thrumpton Hall in the US (2008)
- Chaplin's Girl: The Life and Loves of Virginia Cherrill (2009)
External links
- Official homepage
- http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/stories/2007/1884759.htmTranscript of interview with Ramona KovalRamona KovalRamona Koval is an Australian broadcaster, writer and journalist.Her parents were Yiddish-speaking survivors of the Holocaust who arrived in Melbourne from Poland in 1950....
, The Book ShowThe Book ShowThe Book Show is an Australian ABC radio program for the discussion of everything relating to the written word. It is broadcast live around Australia on Radio National with a daily weekday morning show which is then replayed nightly and also has a Sunday evening show. The show is hosted by Ramona...
, ABC Radio National 1 April 2007] - 'The Knife by the Handle at Last' Tim ParksTim ParksTim Parks is a British novelist, translator and author.-Life:Tim Parks was born in Manchester in 1954, the son of a clergyman. He grew up in Finchley , London and was educated at Cambridge University and Harvard. He has lived near Verona in Italy since 1981...
review of Thrumpton Hall: A Memoir of Life in My Father's House from The New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of Books is a fortnightly magazine with articles on literature, culture and current affairs. Published in New York City, it takes as its point of departure that the discussion of important books is itself an indispensable literary activity...