Anita Brookner
Encyclopedia
Anita Brookner CBE
(born 16 July 1928) is an English language novelist and art historian who was born in Herne Hill
, a suburb of London.
and founded a tobacco factory. Maude changed the family's surname to Brookner because of anti-German sentiment in Britain. Anita Brookner had a lonely childhood, although her grandmother and uncle lived with the family, and her parents, secular Jews, opened their house to Jewish refugees escaping Nazi persecution during the 1930s and World War II
.
Brookner was educated at the private James Allen's Girls' School
. In 1949 she received a BA in History from King's College London
, and in 1953 a doctorate in Art History from the Courtauld Institute of Art
.
at Cambridge University. She was promoted to Reader at the Courtauld Institute of Art
in 1977, where she worked until her retirement in 1988.
Brookner published her first novel, A Start In Life in 1981, at the age of 53. Since then she has published a novel approximately every year.
Brookner has not married; and took care of her parents as they aged.
In 1990 she was made a CBE
(Commander of the British Empire). She is a Fellow of King's College London
and of Murray Edwards College, Cambridge.
(1984) was awarded the Booker Prize.
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
(born 16 July 1928) is an English language novelist and art historian who was born in Herne Hill
Herne Hill
Herne Hill is located in the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Southwark in Greater London. There is a road of the same name which continues the A215 north of Norwood Road and was called Herne Hill Road.-History:...
, a suburb of London.
Early life and education
Brookner was the only child of Newson Bruckner, a Polish immigrant to Britain, and Maude Schiska, a singer whose father had emigrated from PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and founded a tobacco factory. Maude changed the family's surname to Brookner because of anti-German sentiment in Britain. Anita Brookner had a lonely childhood, although her grandmother and uncle lived with the family, and her parents, secular Jews, opened their house to Jewish refugees escaping Nazi persecution during the 1930s and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Brookner was educated at the private James Allen's Girls' School
James Allen's Girls' School
James Allen's Girls' School, or JAGS, is an independent day school situated in Dulwich, South London, England. It has a senior school for 11–18 year old girls, a prep school for 7–11 year old girls , and a pre-preparatory school — JAPPS — for 4–7 year old girls.-Jags History:The school is part of...
. In 1949 she received a BA in History from King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
, and in 1953 a doctorate in Art History from the Courtauld Institute of Art
Courtauld Institute of Art
The Courtauld Institute of Art is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art. The Courtauld is one of the premier centres for the teaching of art history in the world; it was the only History of Art department in the UK to be awarded a top...
.
Career
In 1967 she became the first woman to hold the Slade professorshipSlade Professor of Fine Art
The Slade Professorship of Fine Art is the oldest professorship of art at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and London.-History:The chairs were founded concurrently in 1869 by a bequest from the art collector and philanthropist Felix Slade, with studentships also created in the University of...
at Cambridge University. She was promoted to Reader at the Courtauld Institute of Art
Courtauld Institute of Art
The Courtauld Institute of Art is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art. The Courtauld is one of the premier centres for the teaching of art history in the world; it was the only History of Art department in the UK to be awarded a top...
in 1977, where she worked until her retirement in 1988.
Brookner published her first novel, A Start In Life in 1981, at the age of 53. Since then she has published a novel approximately every year.
Brookner has not married; and took care of her parents as they aged.
In 1990 she was made a CBE
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
(Commander of the British Empire). She is a Fellow of King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
and of Murray Edwards College, Cambridge.
Work
Brookner is highly regarded as a stylist. Her novels explore themes of emotional loss and difficulties associated with fitting into society, and typically depict intellectual, middle-class women, who suffer isolation and disappointments in love. Many of Brookner's characters are the children of European immigrants to Britain; a number appear to be of Jewish descent. Brookner's fourth book, Hotel du LacHotel du Lac
Hotel du Lac is a 1984 Booker Prize winning novel by English writer Anita Brookner.-Plot:Romantic novelist Edith Hope is staying in a hotel on the shores of Lake Geneva, where her friends have advised her to retreat following an unfortunate incident...
(1984) was awarded the Booker Prize.
External links
- Anita Brookner Collection at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at AustinUniversity of Texas at AustinThe University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...