British writer (born 1940)
Susan Hilary Spurling (née Forrest; born 25 December 1940) is a British writer, known for her work as a journalist and biographer.
Early life and education
Born in Stockport , Cheshire ,[ 1] to circuit judge Gilbert Alexander Forrest (1912–1977)[ 2] and teacher Emily Maureen, daughter of Joseph Armstrong, of Fivemiletown , County Tyrone ,[ 3] [ 4] Spurling was educated at Clifton High School , an independent school in Bristol , South-West England, and then at Somerville College, Oxford .[ 5] [ 6]
Career
Spurling won the Whitbread Prize for the second volume of her biography of Henri Matisse in January 2006.[ 7] Burying The Bones: Pearl Buck in China was published in March 2010.[ 8]
Personal life
In 1961, she married playwright John Spurling .[ 6] The couple have three children (Amy, Nathaniel, and Gilbert).[ 9]
Works
Ivy When Young: The Early Life of Ivy Compton-Burnett 1884–1919 (1974)
Mervyn Peake : Drawings (1974), editor
Invitation to the Dance: A Handbook to Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time (1977)
Secrets of a Woman's Heart: The Later Life of Ivy Compton-Burnett 1920–1969 (1984)
Elinor Fettiplace's Receipt Book : Elizabethan Country House Cooking (1986)
Paul Scott : A Life (1990)
Paper Spirits. Collage Portraits by Vladimir Sulyagin (1992), introduction
Ivy: The Life of I. Compton-Burnett (1995; combines two volumes originally published separately in 1974 and 1984)
The Unknown Matisse: Volume 1 – A Life of Henri Matisse 1869–1908 (1998)
La Grande Thérèse: The Greatest Swindle of the Century (1999) on Thérèse Humbert
The Girl from the Fiction Department: A Portrait of Sonia Orwell (2002)
Matisse the Master: The Conquest of Colour 1909–1954 (2005)
Ann Stokes : Artists' Potter (contributor) (2009)
Matisse: The Life (abridged version of two earlier works) (2009)
Burying the Bones: Pearl Buck in China (2010)
Anthony Powell : Dancing to the Music of Time (2017)[ 10]
Awards
References
^ World Authors, 1985–1990 , ed. Vineta Colby, H. W. Wilson Ltd, 1995, p. 842.
^ Who was Who: A Cumulated Index 1897–2000 , A. & C. Black, 2002, p. 289.
^ The Solicitors' Journal , vol. 121, 1977, p. 648.
^ Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed and Official Classes , 95th edition, Kelly's Directories Ltd, 1969, p. 764.
^ Biography of Hilary Spurling , The Guardian
^ a b International Who's Who of Writers and Authors , 23rd edition, Europa Publications, Taylor & Francis Group, 2008, p. 685.
^ Ezard, John (25 January 2006). "Secret life of Matisse wins Whitbread prize" . The Guardian . Retrieved 26 September 2023 .
^ Shuyun, Sun (17 April 2010). "Burying the Bones: Pearl Buck in China by Hilary Spurling" . The Guardian . Retrieved 26 September 2023 .
^ Kirkpatrick, Kirk; Vinson, James, eds. (1988). "Spurling, John" . Contemporary Dramatists (Fourth ed.). Chicago and London: St. James Press. p. 500. ISBN 0912289627 .
^ Mabb, David. (2023). Return to Hilary Spurling's Dancing to the Music of Time (2017). Anthony Powell Newsletter 90 (spring): 3-16.
^ "Dazzling tale of Ms Saigon takes top award" . The Scotsman . 20 August 2011.
External links
International National Academics Other