The Writing of Andrew's Book

[stourhead]

I've just been reading a biography of Lytton Strachey by Michael Holroyd and I was wondering Andrew if you believe your style of writing in crafting the biography of Barrie was influenced at all by Strachey's style.  It seems to me that he broke new ground in looking at those people we tend to 'hero-worship,' presenting them in a more well-rounded, complete way.

[Hannah High]

Sorry, i'm not answering a question or anything, but just have to say...fell in love because of Andrew's JMB bio and how real the Scot was in both the book and script, virtures and faults. Whereas other bios I had read were either bashing or worshiping people. Barrie's a mastepiece...his reckless passion and grace in imagination, moods and coldness in full swing, his care/intrusion of the Davies family, his relationship with his wife, the letting go of his boys...nothing sentimental or judgmental in Birkin's way. Like those 3 divorce scenes in TLB...so difficult, but brilliant. Barrie shocked, caring, selfish. The book actually is really moving about seeing people who are alive too. I was in my mid teens when I read/saw Andrew's version of the story and it changed the way I looked around, thought of myself and others whereas before it was very black/white. Enough blah, but I recently read through the pondering book again and such thoughts came in my mind and heart...

[andrew]

Strachey's style, or Holroyd's?  Either way, I'm not consciously aware of any specific influence, though I'm sure there were plenty. I had to write it so fast due to deadline pressure from Constables (= 12 weeks!) that I barely had time to do any crafting or rewriting at all. It was more or less just a stream of memories from all the research I'd done for the TV trilogy ...