Search the Fresh Air Archive

Close Search

Michael Holroyd on Writing a Biography.

Biographer Michael Holroyd. His 1988 book "The Search for Love," on the early life of George Bernard Shaw, was called one of the "three great literary biographies of the century." Holroyd continues Shaw's biography in the second volume titled "The Pursuit of Power." In it, Holroyd writes about Shaw's hard-won battle for success in the London theatre. And he details Shaw's political battles for Fabian socialism and Irish Home Rule. Holroyd established his reputation as a biographer with a two volume book on the life of Lytton Strachey.

22:09
Queue

Guest

Host

Related Topics

Other segments from the episode on September 27, 1989

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, September 27, 1989: Interview with Michael Holroyd; Commentary on Stu Sutcliffe; Interview with Eugene Richards; Review of Raymond Chandler and Robert Parker's novel …
Queue
11:20

Eugene Richards Captures Emergency Medicine on Film.

Photojournalist Eugene Richards. His new book, "The Knife & Gun Club: Scenes from an Emergency Room," has been called the "modern day version of Dante's 'Inferno.'" It chronicles the trauma center of the Denver General Hospital where Richards spent twelve to twenty hours a day photographing and talking to the staff.

Interview
Queue
03:38

Robert Parker Succeeds in Completing Chandler's "Poodle Springs."

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "Poodle Springs," the novel Raymond Chandler was working on at the time of his death. The story finds Chandler's famous detective Philip Marlowe married and living in Poodle Springs. Writer Robert Parker has just finished the novel that Chandler started 30 years ago.

Review

Transcript

See Full

Transcript currently not available.

Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.

Expand

You May Also like

Queue
19:05

The Appeal of the Memoir.

Historian Jill Ker Conway. She's the author of the bestselling memoir, "The Road from Coorain," about growing up in the Australian outback. Conway also edited two volumes of women's memoirs "Written By Herself" (Volumes I and II) which were, in part, about the nature of autobiography written by women. Her new book is "When Memory Speaks: Reflections on Autobiography." (Knopf) Conway was the first female vice president of The University of Toronto, and from 1975 to 1985 was the president of Smith.

Interview

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Learn How
Advertisement

Recently on Fresh Air Available to Play on NPR

52:30

Daughter of Warhol star looks back on a bohemian childhood in the Chelsea Hotel

Alexandra Auder's mother, Viva, was one of Andy Warhol's muses. Growing up in Warhol's orbit meant Auder's childhood was an unusual one. For several years, Viva, Auder and Auder's younger half-sister, Gaby Hoffmann, lived in the Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan. It was was famous for having been home to Leonard Cohen, Dylan Thomas, Virgil Thomson, and Bob Dylan, among others.

Queue

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

43:04

This fake 'Jury Duty' really put James Marsden's improv chops on trial

In the series Jury Duty, a solar contractor named Ronald Gladden has agreed to participate in what he believes is a documentary about the experience of being a juror--but what Ronald doesn't know is that the whole thing is fake.

Queue

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

See All Recent Segments

There are more than 22,000 Fresh Air segments.

Let us help you find exactly what you want to hear.
Just play me something
Your Queue

Would you like to make a playlist based on your queue?

Generate & Share View/Edit Your Queue