Claire Tomalin
Claire Tomalin
Claire Tomalinis an English author and journalist, known for her biographies on Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Samuel Pepys, Jane Austen, and Mary Wollstonecraft...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionAuthor
Date of Birth20 June 1933
human
Dickens is a lover of human beings; a relisher of human beings.
felt whom
It's an odd situation: I could not write about someone for whom I felt no affection or admiration.
love shakespeare
I fell in love with Shakespeare when I was 12, and I read the whole works. Yes, I was precocious.
life series sort
My life was a sort of series of random disasters.
people tolerant understanding
You become more tolerant when you become older. You're not interested in rapping people over the knuckles; you're interested in understanding them.
antiquity churches city early endlessly follow interests love nowhere rich rome town
The thing I love about Rome is that is has so many layers. In it, you can follow anything that interests you: town planning, architecture, churches or culture. It's a city rich in antiquity and early Christian treasures, and just endlessly fascinating. There's nowhere else like it.
cared life throughout
Throughout his life, Dickens cared passionately about orphans.
dealt found late magazine mary politics work wrote
When I wrote about Mary Wollstonecraft, I found that here she was, in the late 18th century, going to work for the 'Analytical Review.' What was the 'Analytical Review?' It was a magazine that dealt with politics and literature.
The book doesn't end when you finish writing it.
ambitious charles demonic finds giver good hater helper man protector version
Everyone finds their own version of Charles Dickens. The child-victim, the irrepressibly ambitious young man, the reporter, the demonic worker, the tireless walker. The radical, the protector of orphans, helper of the needy, man of good works, the republican. The hater and the lover of America. The giver of parties, the magician, the traveler.
adored baby both cambridge clothes crying delightful football full grey handsome husband machines men morning park playing sunday three vivid washing
One of my most vivid memories of the mid-1950s is of crying into a washbasin full of soapy grey baby clothes - there were no washing machines - while my handsome and adored husband was off playing football in the park on Sunday morning with all the delightful young men who had been friends to both of us at Cambridge three years earlier.
later music nobody passages poetry prose radio tells time
'Words and Music' on Radio 3 is always a treat. Actors read passages of poetry and prose interspersed with music, and nobody tells you what it is. Later you can look it up online, but at the time you can't cheat.
charles
Writing Charles Dickens' biography is like writing five biographies.
adopt obliged writers
Writers often feel obliged to adopt some sort of public appearance.