Angus Calder facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Angus Calder
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Angus Calder, pictured c. 1970
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Angus Lindsay Ritchie Calder
5 February 1942 London, England
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| Died | 5 June 2008 (aged 66) Edinburgh, Scotland
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| Alma mater | King's College, Cambridge University of Sussex |
| Occupation | Academic |
| Parent(s) | Peter Ritchie Calder Mabel Jane Forbes McKail |
| Relatives | Nigel Calder (brother) Simon Calder (nephew) |
Angus Lindsay Ritchie Calder (born 5 February 1942 – died 5 June 2008) was a Scottish writer, historian, and poet. He first studied English literature. Later, he became very interested in political history.
In 1969, he wrote an important book called The People's War. This book was about Britain during World War II. He wrote other history books too. But he also loved literature and poetry. He worked mainly as a writer, often teaching at universities. Angus Calder was a socialist, meaning he believed in fairness and equality for everyone. He was a well-known Scottish thinker in the 1970s and 1980s.
Contents
Angus Calder's Early Life and Studies
Angus Calder was born in London, England, on 5 February 1942. His family was from Scotland and had strong left-wing beliefs. His father, Ritchie Calder, was a famous journalist and science writer. He was also a socialist and believed in peace.
Angus had several siblings, including Nigel Calder, a mathematician. His nephew is the travel writer Simon Calder.
Angus Calder studied English literature at King's College, Cambridge. He later earned a special degree called a doctorate from the University of Sussex in 1968. His research was about politics in the United Kingdom during World War II. He studied a political group called the Common Wealth Party.
At that time, it was hard to research World War II because many government papers were secret. They were kept secret for 50 years. So, Angus worked with another historian, Paul Addison. They used new information from the Mass-Observation archives. This helped them understand what ordinary British people thought during the war. Angus helped create the Mass-Observation Archive in 1970.
The People's War: A Famous Book
While still studying for his degree, Angus Calder was asked to write a history book. It was about what life was like for people in Britain during World War II. This book became The People's War, published in 1969.
The book was serious and covered many parts of history. It looked at politics and society during the war. Angus was critical of old stories about the war that weren't quite true. But he did it in a fair way, not just arguing. The book was very successful and was called "groundbreaking."
Paul Addison, his fellow historian, explained Angus's main idea. Angus believed that to win the war, leaders had to involve ordinary people. In the first part of the war, people took charge themselves. It became "the People's War," where people joined in to make decisions. For example, Londoners used underground train stations as shelters, even when the government didn't want them to. But in the second half of the war, powerful groups started to take back control.
The People's War was well-liked and won a prize called the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. Even though its main idea wasn't fully accepted by all academics, it was very important for popular history. Many people, including filmmakers and writers, were influenced by it. For example, the playwright David Hare and future Prime Minister Gordon Brown were said to have been inspired by the book. It is still printed today.
Over time, Angus Calder started to question some of his own ideas from the book. He changed many of his early conclusions in his 1991 book, The Myth of the Blitz. This change happened partly because he disliked the strong national pride that came with the Falklands War of 1982 and Thatcherism. These events were partly inspired by the idea of the "People's War" that he had helped make popular.
Angus Calder's Love for Literature and Poetry
After the success of The People's War, Angus Calder spent more time on literature and poetry. In 1971, he moved to Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1976, he published Russia Discovered, a book about Russian novels from the 1800s.
Three years later, he became a tutor at the Open University. He taught literature at universities in Africa. From 1981 to 1987, he helped edit the Journal of Commonwealth Literature.
Angus Calder became a well-known person in the Scottish literary world. He wrote essays, articles, and books about famous writers like Byron and T. S. Eliot. He also edited collections of poetry and stories. He wrote introductions for new editions of many classic books. These included Great Expectations and The Life of Samuel Johnson.
In 1981, he published Revolutionary Empire. This book looked at how English-speaking empires grew over three centuries. In 1984, Angus helped start the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh. He was its first leader. He also edited the writings of the poet Hugh MacDiarmid. Angus Calder won the Eric Gregory Award for his own poetry.
Angus Calder's Political Views
Angus Calder was a nationalist and a socialist. This means he believed in Scotland having more control over its own affairs and in social equality. He moved from the Scottish National Party (SNP) to the Scottish Socialist Party. He loved the idea of a Scottish republic, but he also wanted to challenge some popular myths about Scotland's identity.
In his 1992 book, Revolving Culture: Notes from a Scottish republic, he described how Scotland developed an "intellectual republic." This happened because Scotland was a bit isolated and England didn't pay much attention to Scottish matters.
In later years, he edited books about war, memory, and biographies. He always wrote poetry and won an award for it in 1967. Questions about Scottish national identity became very important in the 1980s. Angus was very active in these discussions. He believed that Scots had a special way of life. He also felt that Scots had influenced the English more than the English had influenced the Scots. He was happy to learn that the game of cricket was brought to Sri Lanka by a Scot!
Angus Calder's Personal Life
Angus Calder's first wife was Jennifer Daiches. They worked together on a book about Sir Walter Scott. They had two daughters, Rachel and Gowan, and a son, Gideon. Their marriage ended in 1982.
In 1986, he married Kate Kyle. They had a son named Douglas in 1989. Angus retired early from the Open University in 1995.
Angus Calder's Death
Angus Calder passed away on 5 June 2008, at the age of 66. He died from lung cancer. Shortly before he died, a collection of writings and sketches for him was put together by his son Gideon Calder and poet Richard Berengarten. It was published just after his death.
Reviews
- Lenman, Bruce (1982), review of Revolutionary Empire: The Rise of the English-Speaking Empires from the 15th Century to the 1780s, in Cencrastus No. 8, Spring 1982, p. 37, ISSN 0264-0856
Anthologies
- (Contributor) Pax Edina: The One O' Clock Gun Anthology (Edinburgh, 2010)
- Recorded readings and performances
- (Collaboration) From Dungeons to the Sky – Commissioned by Amnesty International (Scotland) for performance of 12 poems with music for Commonwealth Head of States visit to Edinburgh, 1996, at the Queen's Hall, Edinburgh. Readings by Angus and Gowan Calder, piano compositions and performance by Dmytro Morykit.
