Humphrey Carpenter Books

A biography of CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien and the group of writers to come out of Oxford during the Second World War.

Summarizes Auden's ambiguity: 'Here, as so often in his life, Auden adopted a dogmatic attitude which did not reflect the full range of his opinions, and which he sometimes flatly contradicted.'

A comprehensive collection of letters spanning the adult life (1914-1973) of one of the world’s most famous storytellers.

When Class Three and Mr Majeika go to the circus, it's definitely not as fun as they imagined. Everyone's a bit old, creaky and rubbish really! So when Mr Majeika casts a small spell to help the performers with their circus show, Billy Balance, the slack rope walker, kidnaps Mr Majeika so that Mr Majeika can magically help him.

This text examines the British satire explosion of the early 1960s - from Private Eye and Beyond the Fringe to That Was the Week That Was - and its lasting influence on comedy.

'Music teacher? What music teacher?' The sudden arrival of a new music teacher throws St barty's School into confusion. Mysterious smells start coming from the staffroom and creepy-crawlies appear out of nowhere. The new arrival is, of course, Wilhelmina Worlock, a wicked witch with some nasty tricks. It's up to Mr Majeika to try to outwit her...

Mysteriously stranded in the fog at night, Mr Majeika and Class Three find themselves in a creepy hotel near Hadrian's Wall, where some very spooky things start to happen. Strange lights, ghostly sounds and vanishing people.

When old Mr Jenks retires, St Barty's School advertises for a new caretaker. Unfortunately there's only one applicant - Hamish Bigmore's Uncle Wilf who is just as rude and bad-tempered as Hamish. When Mr Majeika is hurt in an accident it becomes clear that Uncle Wilf is working for the wickedest of witches, Wilhelmina Warlock! It's up to Mr Majeika to work his magic and put things right again.

A biography of J.R.R. Tolkien, creator of the fictional world of Middle-Earth, discussing his early life, his career as a scholar and teacher, his decision to write and the development of his work.

Forty years ago, at the 1960 Edinburgh Festival, four young men - Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Jonathan Miller and Alan Bennett - walked on to a stage and changed the face not merely of British comedy but of social attitudes in this country. BEYOND THE FRINGE was iconoclastic, fracturing the 'culture of deference' which had predominated in the 1950s. It was the forerunner of an explosion of satire which included The Establishment Club, PRIVATE EYE and the BBC's daring weekly satire show, THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS. Award-winning biographer Humphrey Carpenter evokes the atmosphere of 60's Britain and the social and political conditions which enraged and inspired the satirists, and brings vibrantly alive this amusing but also key period of British cultural life.