Benjamin Britten by Humphrey Carpenter is a brilliant, enthralling biography of Benjamin Britten, one of twentieth-century Britain's greatest composers.
Humphrey Carpenter was born and educated in Oxford, and attended the Dragon School and Keble College. He was a well-known biographer and children's writer, and worked previously as a producer at the BBC. He wrote biographies of J. R. R. Tolkien, W. H. Auden, Benjamin Britten, Ezra Pound, C. S. Lewis and Dennis Potter. Among his many books for children were the best-selling Mr Majeika series. He also wrote several plays for the theatre and radio. A keen musician, he was a member of a 1930s-style jazz band, Vile Bodies, which was resident at the Ritz Hotel in London for a number of years. He died in 2005.
This new biography is typical of the author's style: comprehensive, probing, and objective. Access to materials from the estate of renowned English composer Edward Benjamin Britten (1913-76) enabled Carpenter to write an enlightening study that focuses on Britten's homosexuality and how it influenced his work. Throughout his life, Britten achieved significant accomplishments yet never felt completely accepted. He followed a strict code of perfectionism, suffered from bouts of depression, and found it difficult to ``loosen up.'' Wrapped around his spirit, though, was the peculiar thrust of artistic drive that is so characteristic of brilliance. Britten received accolades during his lifetime, but full appreciation and acknowledgement did not come until after his death. While much has been written about Britten in the past 17 years, Carpenter's book is an important contribution. Highly recommended. Music Book Society main selection.-- Kathleen Sparkman, Baylor Univ., Waco, Tex.
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