Besides the Lives of Augustus John, Bernard Shaw and Lytton Strachey (which was filmed as Carrington), Michael Holroyd has written two volumes of memoirs, Basil Street Blues and Mosaic. A Strange Eventful History won the James Tait Black Prize, and was a biography of two great theatrical dynasties which included Henry Irving, Ellen Terry, and her son Edward Gordon Craig. His most recent book, A Book of Secrets, combined memoir with biographies of a number of notable women. He has been president of the Royal Society of Literature and is the first non-fiction writer to have been awarded the British Literature Prize. He lives in London and Somerset with his wife, the novelist Margaret Drabble.
A charming book...elegantly written -- Alexei Sayle Telegraph Holroyd's elegant little essays are a pleasure to read...these are witty, quotable jeux d'esprit -- Nick Rennison Sunday Times A great Christmas present for those hurtling towards their driving test. A subtle delight The Lady Jolly, illustrated salute to the cars in his own life and the lives he has biographised in a long literary career. Lovely. Toot! Toot! -- Iain Finlayson The Times A delightful memoir-cum-social history which is wry, self-deprecating and anything but stuffy. his elegant musings provide an ideal festive pick-me-up, compact enough to fit in a stocking, and packing enough pep to burn any rival off the road -- Andrew Lycett Sunday Telegraph