Claire Tomalin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Claire Tomalin
Tomalin, 2013
Born	Claire Delavenay (1933-06-20) 20 June 1933 (age 92) London, England
Occupation	Author, journalist
Education	Hitchin Girls' School; Dartington Hall School
Alma mater	Newnham College, Cambridge
Notable works	The Invisible Woman: The story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens (1990): Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self (2002)
Spouse	Nicholas Tomalin ​ ​ (m. 1955; his death 1973)​ Michael Frayn ​ (m. 1993)​
Children	5

Claire Tomalin (born Claire Delavenay on June 20, 1933) is a famous English writer and journalist. She is best known for writing detailed biographies about important historical figures. Some of the people she has written about include Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Samuel Pepys, Jane Austen, and Mary Wollstonecraft.

Early Life and Education

Claire Tomalin was born in London, England. Her mother, Muriel Herbert, was an English composer. Her father, Émile Delavenay, was a French academic.

Claire went to several schools as she grew up. She attended Hitchin Girls' Grammar School in Hertfordshire. She also studied at Dartington Hall School in Devon. Later, she went to Newnham College, Cambridge at Cambridge.

Claire Tomalin's Career as a Writer

Claire Tomalin has written many award-winning books. Her first book, The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft, was published in 1974. This book won the Whitbread Book Award.

Here are some of her other well-known books:

• Shelley and His World (1980)
• Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life (1987)
• The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens (1990). This book won several awards. It was even made into a film in 2013.
• Mrs Jordan's Profession (1994)
• Jane Austen: A Life (1997)
• Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self (2002). This biography won the Whitbread biography and Book of the Year prizes.
• Thomas Hardy: The Time-Torn Man (2006). A television film about Hardy followed this book.
• Charles Dickens: A Life (2011)
• The Young H. G. Wells: Changing the World (2021)

Claire Tomalin also edited a children's story by Mary Shelley called Maurice. In 1999, she published a collection of her reviews called Several Strangers.

Other Contributions

Beyond writing books, Claire Tomalin has been involved in other projects. She helped organize two exhibitions. One was about the actress Mrs Jordan in 1995. The other was about Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley in 1997.

In 2004, she helped unveil a blue plaque for Mary Wollstonecraft. This plaque marks the house where Wollstonecraft lived in London. Claire Tomalin has also served on important committees. These include the London Library and the National Portrait Gallery. She is also a Vice-President of the Royal Literary Fund and the Royal Society of Literature.

Claire Tomalin's Family Life

Claire Tomalin married her first husband, Nicholas Tomalin, in 1955. Nicholas was also a journalist. They had five children together, three daughters and two sons. Sadly, Nicholas was killed in 1973 while reporting on a war.

While raising her children, Claire worked as a literary editor. She worked for the New Statesman and then The Sunday Times. In 1993, she married her second husband, Michael Frayn. He is a well-known novelist and playwright. They live in Petersham, London.

Awards and Recognitions

Claire Tomalin has received many awards for her writing and contributions.

• She became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1976.
• Her book The Invisible Woman won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1990 and the Hawthornden Prize in 1991.
• Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self won the Whitbread Book Award in 2002. It also received the Rose Mary Crawshay Prize and the Samuel Pepys Award in 2003.
• She has received honorary degrees (D.Litt) from many universities. These include UEA, Cambridge, and the Open University.
• In 2016, she received the Annual Award from the Biographers International Organization.
• She was awarded the Bodley Medal in 2018.

Claire Tomalin's Published Works

• The Young H. G. Wells: Changing the World (2021)
• A Life of My Own (2017) - This is her autobiography, telling her own life story.
• Charles Dickens: A Life (2011)
• Thomas Hardy: The Time-Torn Man (2007)
• Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self (2002)
• Jane Austen: A Life (2000)
• Several Strangers; writing from three decades (1999)
• Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life (1987)
• Mrs. Jordan's Profession: The Story of a Great Actress and a Future King (1995)
• The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens (1990)
• Shelley and His World (1980)
• The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft (1974)