Best Selling Books by Humphrey Carpenter

The original authorised biography, and the only one written by an author who actually met J.R.R. Tolkien.

W. H. Auden disapproved of literary biography. Or did he? The truth is far more equivocal than at first seems apparent. There is no denying he delivered himself of such unambiguous pronouncements as ''Biographies of writers are always superfluous and usually in bad taste.''; and that he asked for his friends to burn his letters at his death, but, against that, Auden himself often reviewed literary biographies and normally with enthusiasm. Moreover he argued for biographies of writers such as Dryden, Trollope, Wagner and Gerard Manley Hopkins as their lives would tell us something about their art. Humphrey Carpenter himself nicely summarizes Auden''s ambiguity on this question. ''Here (referring to literary biography), as so often in his life, Auden adopted a dogmatic attitude which did not reflect the full range of his opinions, and which he sometimes flatly contradicted.'' Although the biography was not authorized it did receive the co-operation of the Auden Estate which gave permission for letters and unpublished works to be quoted. The result is a biography that was widely praised on first publication in 1981 and which continues to hold its own. Now is the obvious time to reissue it with the character of Humphrey Carpenter playing an important role in Alan Bennett''s The Habit of Art. In his introduction Alan Bennett writes ''When I started writing the play I made much use of the biographies of both Auden and Britten written by Humphrey Carpenter and both are models of their kind. Indeed I was consulting his books so much that eventually Carpenter found his way into the play.'' ''Carpenter is a model biographer - diligent, unspeculative, sympathetic, and extremely good at finding out what happened when and with whom . . . admirably detailed and researched study.'' John Bayley, The Listener ''an illuminating book; full of information, unobtrusively affectionate, it describes with unpretentious elegance the curve of a great poet''s life and work'' Frank Kermode, Guardian ''sharpens and usually lights up even the most canvassed parts of the Auden life and myth . . . a deeply interesting book about a deeply interesting life'' Roy Fuller, Sunday Times '' . . . the story of a remarkable man told by one of the best living biographers'' David Cecil, Book Choice

Drawing on unpublished letters and diaries, the author examines the friendship between and the social and literary gatherings of Lewis, Tolkien, and Williams who laughingly called themselves the Inklings.

Samenhangende studie over het werk van een tiental auteurs van kinderboeken uit de periode 1860 tot 1930.

The first truly comprehensive biography of the controversial poet. The compassionate narrative does not flinch before the poet''s eccentric personality and later involvement with Fascist ideology, and brings absorbing new detail to his years of incarceration for treason. Exhaustively researched. Carpenter also provides a bibliography of biographical references and notes on sources. Highly recommended. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Dig into almost 2,000 entries in this bulging resource, where Anne of Green Gables rubs elbows with the Lord of the Rings, Mother Goose with Punch and Judy, Hans Christian Andersen with Christina Rossetti, and Maurice Sendak with Kate Greenaway. It''s thorough -- and indispensable for teachers, librarians, and parents.

Spike Milligan was one of our best-loved comics as well as one of our most original. In this first major assessment of Spike''s life and career, the highly respected biographer Humphrey Carpenter has - through copious research and access to many of those closest to the great man - unearthed a character who could be as difficult and contradictory as he was generous and talented. The creator of The Goons was to influence a whole generation of comics, yet was never to feel fully valued. His periods of depression were matched by periods of high creativity - there were poems, novels, volumes of biography, as well as TV series and a one-man show as Spike searched for his best means of expression. There was also, as revealed here, his inveterate womanising. Married three times and with four children to whom he was devoted, two illegitimate children were to remain barely acknowledged. Detailing both his private and professional life, Humphrey Carpenter gives us the most revealing portrait yet of this highly complex genius.

''I really am quite useless as a wizard'', says Mr Majeika. But Class Three thinks Mr Majeika is an excellent wizard, particularly when his spells go wrong.

When Class Three and Mr Majeika go to the circus, it''s definitely not as fun as they imagined. Everyone''s a bit old, creaky and rubbish really! So when Mr Majeika casts a small spell to help the performers with their circus show, it''s no surprise that Billy Balance, the slack rope walker, kidnaps Mr Majeika so that Mr Majeika can magically help him everytime! Things get worse whilst Mr majeika is trapped when Wilhelmina Worlock takes the opportunity to turn Class Three''s classroom into a circus and the children spend all afternoon running away from lions and alligators! But Mr Majeika''s magic saves the day, Class Three and the circus end up on the news and once again Mr Potter, the headmaster, misses it all!

Class Three has got a new computer and while exploring it, Mr Majeika manages to get the whole class trapped in the school website. Many adventures follow and Class Three meet bizarre characters before they can get out.

''Use of magic by teacher strictly forbidden.'' Poor Mr Majeika goes to the bottom of the class when the school inspector comes to call. Things don''t get any easier when Mr Majeika turns himself into a lobster by mistake. Class Three somehow has to get Wilhemina Worlock to undo the spell...

Discusses Evelyn Waugh''s circle of friends and colleagues, and describes their influence on his work.

''Oh dear,'' said Mr Majeika, ''I seem to have made the spell too strong.'' Class Three has fun during Book Week, when famous storybook characters suddenly appear! But there''s trouble ahead with Wilhemina Worlock the witch at the school''s Olympic Sports Day... Will Mr Majeika manage to magic up a solution?

''Music teacher? What music teacher?'' The sudden arrival of a new music teacher throws St barty''s School into confusion. Mysterious smells start coming from the staffroom and creepy-crawlies appear out of nowhere. The new arrival is, of course, Wilhelmina Worlock, a wicked witch with some nasty tricks. It''s up to Mr Majeika to try to outwit her...

''I really am quite useless as a wizard.'' But Class Three thinks Mr Majeika is an excellent wizard, particularly when his spells go wrong! First Hamish Bigmore ends up on TV, then a real giant appears in the school play. And finally Mr Majeika gets the whole class lost on a magic carpet! There''s always an adventure with Mr Majeika around...

It started with Beyond the Fringe at the Edinburgh Festival of 1960. Four Cambridge undergraduates, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Jonathan Miller and Alan Bennett had created a satirical revue, which by its iconoclastic irreverence destroyed what Humphrey Carpenter describes as ''the culture of deference'' so prevalent in the preceding decade. Satire was quick to spread: The Establishment Club, ''London''s first satirical nightclub'', opened in Soho: Private Eye began to appear: and That Was The Week That Was started to be screened on the BBC on Saturday nights. Why was there this sudden upsurge of satire? What really happened in those years? Alan Bennett, Jonathan Miller, Ned Sherrin, Richard Ingrams and the late John Wells were all interviewed by Humphrey Carpenter. Their stories have been woven together to create a narrative which vibrantly brings alive this period of social and cultural change. ''It''s an interesting story, and I think that it''s never been really got quite right (before now), largely because it hasn''t been set in its social context. . . This is the first detailed, scholarly account of this peculiar episode in British cultural history, and I suspect will remain a definitive one.'' Jonathan Miller

Mr Majeika is the most magical teacher around! ''Sometimes, '' whispered Jody. ''I think school dinners would be all right if it wasn''t for her.'' Mrs Chipchase, the nasty dinner lady, makes lunch hour at St Barty''s really unpleasant. That is, for everyone but her ''favourite friend'', Hamish Bigmore. Up to his usual tricks, Hamish is allowed to eat chocolate instead of ghastly school dinners! Mr Majeika decides it''s time to sort out the menu in his most magical way...! There are lots more Mr Majeika adventures to collect, including: Mr Majika and the Ghost Train Mr Majeika and the Lost Spell Book Mr Majeika and the Haunted Hotel Mr Majeika and the School Play Mr Majeika and the School Trip