Robert McCrum Biography
(1953– ), In the Secret State, A Loss of Heart, The Fabulous Englishman, Mainland, The Psychological Moment
British novelist and editor, born in Cambridge, educated at Cambridge University. His novels, several of which have political themes, include In the Secret State (1980); A Loss of Heart (1982); The Fabulous Englishman (1984), set in Czechoslovakia during the Prague Spring of 1968 and concerning the affair between a young Englishman and his Czech lover; and Mainland (1991), a political thriller exploring the nature of betrayal, in which the protagonist, engaged on a politically sensitive mission in an occupied territory, encounters a beautiful journalist and is drawn into a nightmarish world of violence and corruption. Political corruption also surfaces in The Psychological Moment (1993), set in Cape Cod. McCrum is also the author of several books for children and of the award-winning BBC series, The Story of English (1985). As Editor in Chief of Faber & Faber, he has been instrumental in publishing, amongst others, the work of the Czechoslovakian novelist, Milan Kundera.
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Literature Reference: American Literature, English Literature, Classics & Modern FictionEncyclopedia of Literature: Harriet Martineau Biography to John McTaggart (John McTaggart Ellis McTaggart) Biography