Anita Brookner
Anita Brookner: A Life of Reflection and Insight
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Full Name and Common Aliases
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Anita Brookner was born on July 16, 1928, in London, England, UK. She is commonly known for her pseudonym, which was not publicly disclosed until after her death.
Birth and Death Dates
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Brookner was born on July 16, 1928, and passed away on March 29, 2016, at the age of 87.
Nationality and Profession(s)
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Anita Brookner was a British novelist, art historian, and academic. She held British nationality throughout her life.
Early Life and Background
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Born to a Jewish family in London's East End, Brookner grew up in an environment that valued education. Her parents encouraged her love of learning, which led her to study history at Cambridge University. After completing her undergraduate degree, Brookner pursued further studies, earning a Ph.D. in art history from the Courtauld Institute.
Major Accomplishments
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Brookner's academic career spanned several decades and institutions. She taught at various universities, including the University of London, where she was appointed as a senior lecturer in art history. Her expertise in 18th- and 19th-century European art earned her recognition within the academic community.
In addition to her teaching and research pursuits, Brookner turned her attention to writing fiction. Her first novel, _A Start in Life_, published in 1981, was met with critical acclaim and established her as a significant voice in British literature.
Notable Works or Actions
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Brookner's literary career produced over twenty novels, each exploring themes of isolation, loneliness, and the human condition. Her writing often focused on the experiences of women within a patriarchal society, offering poignant insights into their struggles and desires.
Some of her most notable works include _Hotel du Lac_ (1984), which won the Booker Prize; _Latecomers_ (1988); and _Undue Influence_ (1999).
Impact and Legacy
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Anita Brookner's writing has had a lasting impact on literary circles. Her exploration of the complexities of human relationships, often through the lens of female experience, resonated with readers worldwide.
Brookner's own life was marked by periods of solitude, which she explored in her fiction. This unique perspective brought a depth and nuance to her writing, allowing readers to connect with her characters on a profound level.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
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Anita Brookner is widely remembered for her thought-provoking novels that captured the essence of human existence. Her exploration of themes such as isolation, loneliness, and relationships continues to resonate with readers today.
As an art historian and academic, Brookner's contributions to the field of art history are also significant. Her expertise in European art from the 18th to the 19th centuries has left a lasting impact on the academic community.
Brookner's legacy extends beyond her written works and academic achievements. She is remembered as a pioneering figure who paved the way for women in academia and literature, inspiring generations of writers and scholars with her dedication to learning and creative expression.
Quotes by Anita Brookner
Anita Brookner's insights on:
Parents are only good as parents at a certain stage of their children’s lives, she reflected.
One loses the capacity to grieve as a child grieves, or to rage as a child rages: hotly, despairingly, with tears of passion. One grows up, one becomes civilized, one learns one’s manners, and consequently can no longer manage these two functions – sorrow and anger – adequately.
My idea of absolute happiness is to sit in a hot garden all day, reading, or writing, utterly safe in the knowledge that the person I love will come home to me in the evening. Every evening.
And I go to bed too early. I sometimes think I should never have married because I need too much sleep.
Had she been more active, less reclusive, she would have gone out into the streets to lose herself in some sort of company, have made the pretext of buying an evening paper an opportunity to chat to the newsagent, but she rejected such stratagems, seeing them for what they were. It had been decreed that she was to be solitary, and somehow she had always known this. Once she had left her parents’ house all friendships had seemed provisional; even marriage had not changed that.
You have no idea how promising the world begins to looks once you have decided to have it all for yourself. And how much healthier your decisions are once they become entirely selfish. It is the simplest thing in the world to decide what you want to do – or, rather, what you don’t want to do – and just to act on that.