Jump to content

Nigel Cliff: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Yobot (talk | contribs)
Bots
4,733,870 edits
m Fix REFPUNCT + other minor fixes
GreenC bot (talk | contribs)
Bots
2,366,342 edits
 
(22 intermediate revisions by 13 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|British biographer, historian, translator and critic}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2019}}
Line 10: Line 11:
| death_date =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_place =
| residence =
| nationality = British
| citizenship =
| education = [[Winchester College]]<br> [[Harris Manchester College, Oxford]]
| education = [[Winchester College]]<br> [[Harris Manchester College, Oxford]]
| occupation = Historian, biographer, translator and columnist
| occupation = {{flatlist|
* Historian
* biographer
* translator
* columnist
}}
| known for =
| known for =
| home_town =
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Viviana Durante]]|2009}}
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Viviana Durante]]|2009}}
| children = 1 son
| children = 1 son
| parents =
| parents =
| relatives =
| website =
| website =
}}
}}
'''Nigel Cliff''' (born 26 December 1969) is a [[British people|British]] historian, biographer, translator and columnist. He specialises in narrative nonfiction, especially in the fields of cultural history and the history of exploration. He is a Fellow of [[Harris Manchester College, Oxford]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Supernumerary Fellows|url=http://www.hmc.ox.ac.uk/specialization/supernumerary-fellows/|website=Harris Manchester College}}</ref> and the [[Royal Literary Fund]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Nigel Cliff|url=http://www.rlf.org.uk/fellowships/nigel-cliff/|website=Royal Literary Fund|accessdate=28 March 2018}}</ref>
'''Nigel Cliff''' (born 26 December 1969) is a [[British people|British]] biographer, historian, translator and critic. In 2022 [[University of Oxford|Oxford University]] awarded Cliff the degree of Doctor of Letters in recognition of a body of work of international importance.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cliff |first1=Nigel |title=About Nigel |url=https://nigelcliff.com/?page_id=24 |website=Nigel Cliff |access-date=17 June 2022}}</ref>


== Biography ==
== Biography ==
Born in [[Manchester]], Cliff was educated on scholarships at [[Winchester College]] and [[Harris Manchester College, Oxford|Harris Manchester College]], [[University of Oxford|Oxford University]], where he gained a first-class degree and was awarded the Beddington Prize for English Literature.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Oxford University Gazette|date=27 July 1995|issue= 4372|url=https://www.ox.ac.uk/gazette/1995/270795/notc.txt|accessdate=13 June 2016}}</ref> He was a film and theatre critic for ''[[The Times]]'' and a contributor to ''[[The Economist]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Holy War|url=https://www.harpercollins.com/9780061735127/holy-war|website=Harpercollins publishers llc}}</ref> He has since written for a range of publications including ''[[The New York Times]]'' and was a columnist for Dajia, the online magazine of [[Tencent]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Nigel Cliff|url=http://dajia.qq.com/author_personal.htm#!/844|accessdate=28 March 2018}}</ref> Cliff lectures widely, including at Oxford University,<ref>{{cite web|title=Kellogg College Creative Writing Seminar Series|url=http://blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk/mstcw/?p=853|accessdate=13 June 2016}}</ref> the [[Harry Ransom Center]]<ref>{{cite web|last1=Telling|first1=Kathleen|title=Bardolatry reaches fever pitch in Nigel Cliff's The Shakespeare Riots|url=http://blog.hrc.utexas.edu/2016/03/29/bardolatry-reaches-a-fever-pitch-in-nigel-cliffs-the-shakespeare-riots/|website=Cultural Compass|accessdate=13 June 2016}}</ref> and the [[British Library]],.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dying for Shakespeare|url=http://www.bl.uk/events/dying-for-shakespeare|website=The British Library|accessdate=13 June 2016}}</ref>
Born in [[Manchester]], Cliff was educated on scholarships at [[Winchester College]] and [[Harris Manchester College, Oxford|Harris Manchester College]], [[University of Oxford|Oxford University]], where he gained a first-class degree and was awarded the Beddington Prize for English Literature.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Oxford University Gazette|date=27 July 1995|issue= 4372|url=https://www.ox.ac.uk/gazette/1995/270795/notc.txt|access-date=13 June 2016}}</ref> He has been a film and theatre critic for ''[[The Times]]'', a contributor to ''[[The Economist]]'',<ref>{{cite web|title=Holy War|url=https://www.harpercollins.com/9780061735127/holy-war|website=Harpercollins publishers llc}}</ref> a columnist for Dajia, the online magazine of [[Tencent]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Nigel Cliff|url=http://dajia.qq.com/author_personal.htm#!/844|access-date=28 March 2018}}</ref> and a reviewer for [[The New York Times Book Review]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/search?query=%22nigel+cliff%22 |website=New York Times |access-date=8 November 2021|title=The New York Times - Search }}</ref> Cliff has lectured at Oxford University,<ref>{{cite web|title=Kellogg College Creative Writing Seminar Series| date=19 September 2015 |url=http://blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk/mstcw/?p=853|access-date=13 June 2016}}</ref> the [[Harry Ransom Center]]<ref>{{cite web|last1=Telling|first1=Kathleen|title=Bardolatry reaches fever pitch in Nigel Cliff's The Shakespeare Riots|url=http://blog.hrc.utexas.edu/2016/03/29/bardolatry-reaches-a-fever-pitch-in-nigel-cliffs-the-shakespeare-riots/|website=Cultural Compass|access-date=13 June 2016}}</ref> and the [[British Library]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Dying for Shakespeare|url=http://www.bl.uk/events/dying-for-shakespeare|website=The British Library|access-date=13 June 2016}}</ref> and is a regular guest on television and radio programmes including [[Start the Week]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b084w21f |website=bbc.co.uk |access-date=8 November 2021|title=BBC Radio 4 - Start the Week, the Bolshoi and Culture Wars }}</ref> and [[MSNBC]]'s [[Morning Joe]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/the-history-of-pianist-van-cliburn-and-his-impact-on-u-s-russia-relations-110464581810 |website=MSNBC |access-date=8 November 2021|title=The history of pianist van Cliburn and his impact on U.S.-Russia relations }}</ref> He was a fellow of [[Harris Manchester College, Oxford]], from 2016 to 2021 and a Fellow of the [[Royal Literary Fund]] from 2017 to 2019.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nigel Cliff|url=http://www.rlf.org.uk/fellowships/nigel-cliff/|website=Royal Literary Fund|access-date=28 March 2018}}</ref> He also runs a ballet company<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.viviana-durante.com/board-of-trustees/ |website=Viviana Durante |access-date=8 November 2021|title=Trustees &#124; Viviana Durante Official Website }}</ref> and has produced shows for the [[Barbican Centre]] and the [[Bolshoi Theatre]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://danceinversion.ru/en/events/isadora-now |website=DanceInversion |access-date=8 November 2021|title=DANCE INVERSION. International Contemporary Dance Festival }}</ref>


==Career==
==Career==
Cliff's first book, ''The Shakespeare Riots: Revenge, Drama, and Death in Nineteenth-century America'', was published in the [[United States]] by [[Random House]] in 2007. Centring on a feud between leading Shakespearean actors [[William Charles Macready]] and [[Edwin Forrest]] that led to the deadly [[Astor Place Riot]] of 1849, it dramatises the birth of the American entertainment industry and demonstrates the centrality of Shakespeare to nineteenth-century American identity.
Cliff's first book, ''The Shakespeare Riots: Revenge, Drama, and Death in Nineteenth-century America'', was published in the United States by [[Random House]] in 2007. Centring on a feud between leading Shakespearean actors [[William Charles Macready]] and [[Edwin Forrest]] that led to the deadly [[Astor Place Riot]] of 1849, it dramatises the birth of a distinctly American entertainment industry and demonstrates the centrality of Shakespeare to nineteenth-century American identity.


Writing in the [[London Review of Books]], Michael Dobson called the book 'wonderful... a brilliant debut... both enthralling and scholarly."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Dobson|first1=Michael|title=Let him be Caesar!|journal=London Review of Books|date=2 August 2007|volume=29|issue=15|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n15/michael-dobson/let-him-be-caesar}}</ref> In the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', [[Phillip Lopate]] called it 'Brilliantly engrossing... exemplary... engaging, worldly, fluent... crammed with entertaining nuggets.'.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lopate|first1=Phillip|title=What fools these mortals be|journal=Los Angeles Times|date=15 April 2007|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2007/apr/15/books/bk-lopate15}}</ref> The book was a [[The Washington Post|''Washington Post'']] Book of the Year<ref>{{cite journal|title=Book World's Holiday Issue|journal=The Washington Post|date=2 December 2007}}</ref> and was a finalist for the National Award for Arts Writing.<ref>{{cite web|title=2007 Marfield Prize|url=http://artsclubofwashington.org/public-programs-2/award-for-arts-writing/2007-marfield-prize-winner-finalists/|website=Arts Club of Washington|accessdate=13 June 2016}}</ref> Cliff wrote the adapted screenplay for Muse Productions.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Goodridge|first1=Mike|title=Muse lines up slate of hot literary adaptations|journal=Screen International|date=15 May 2011|url=http://www.screendaily.com/news/production/muse-lines-up-slate-of-hot-literary-adaptations/5027532.article|accessdate=14 June 2016}}</ref>
Writing in the [[London Review of Books]], Michael Dobson called the book 'wonderful... a brilliant debut... both enthralling and scholarly."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Dobson|first1=Michael|title=Let him be Caesar!|journal=London Review of Books|date=2 August 2007|volume=29|issue=15|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n15/michael-dobson/let-him-be-caesar}}</ref> In the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', [[Phillip Lopate]] called it 'Brilliantly engrossing... exemplary... engaging, worldly, fluent... crammed with entertaining nuggets.'.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lopate|first1=Phillip|title=What fools these mortals be|journal=Los Angeles Times|date=15 April 2007|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-apr-15-bk-lopate15-story.html}}</ref> The book was a [[The Washington Post|''Washington Post'']] Book of the Year<ref>{{cite news|title=Book World's Holiday Issue|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=2 December 2007}}</ref> and was a finalist for the National Award for Arts Writing.<ref>{{cite web|title=2007 Marfield Prize|url=http://artsclubofwashington.org/public-programs-2/award-for-arts-writing/2007-marfield-prize-winner-finalists/|website=Arts Club of Washington|access-date=13 June 2016}}</ref> Cliff wrote the adapted screenplay for Muse Productions.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Goodridge|first1=Mike|title=Muse lines up slate of hot literary adaptations|journal=Screen International|date=15 May 2011|url=http://www.screendaily.com/news/production/muse-lines-up-slate-of-hot-literary-adaptations/5027532.article|access-date=14 June 2016}}</ref>


Cliff's second book was ''Holy War: How Vasco da Gama's Epic Voyages Turned the Tide in a Centuries-old Clash of Civilisations'' (Harper, 2011).<ref>{{cite web|title=Holy War|url=https://www.harpercollins.com/9780061735127/holy-war|website=Harpercollins publishers llc|accessdate=13 June 2016}}</ref> It was subsequently issued as ''The Last Crusade: The Epic Voyages of Vasco da Gama'' by Harper Perennial in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Last Crusade|url=https://www.harpercollins.com/9780061735134/the-last-crusade|website=Harpercollins publishers llc|accessdate=13 June 2016}}</ref> The book was published under the latter name by Atlantic in the [[United Kingdom|UK]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Book of the Week|url=http://atlantic-books.co.uk/content/follow-last-crusade-nigel-cliff|website=Atlantic books|accessdate=13 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160713172334/http://atlantic-books.co.uk/content/follow-last-crusade-nigel-cliff|archive-date=13 July 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> and under the former name in Portugal, Brazil, Japan, Russia, Turkey, Poland, China and Taiwan.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nigel Cliff official website|url=http://www.nigelcliff.com|accessdate=13 June 2016}}</ref> The book was a ''New York Times'' Notable Book<ref>{{cite web|title=100 Notable Books of 2011|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/books/review/100-notable-books-of-2011.html?pagewanted=all|website=The New York Times|accessdate=13 June 2016}}</ref> and was shortlisted for the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize.<ref>{{cite web|title=English PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History 2013 shortlist announced|url=https://www.englishpen.org/prizes/english-pen-hessell-tiltman-prize-for-history-2013-shortlist-announced/|website=English PEN|accessdate=13 June 2016}}</ref> In the ''New York Times'' Eric Ormsby wrote: "Cliff has a novelist's gift for depicting character."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ormsby|first1=Eric|title=Why Vasco da Gama Went to India|date=9 September 2011|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/books/review/holy-war-by-nigel-cliff-book-review.html?_r=0|accessdate=13 June 2016}}</ref> In ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' James McConnachie called the book 'stirringly epic...[a] thrilling narrative."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=McConnachie|first1=James|title=The Last Crusade|journal=Sunday Times|date=1 April 2012|url=http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/culture/books/non_fiction/article1004258.ece|accessdate=13 June 2016}}</ref>
Cliff's second book was ''Holy War: How Vasco da Gama's Epic Voyages Turned the Tide in a Centuries-old Clash of Civilisations'' (Harper, 2011).<ref>{{cite web|title=Holy War|url=https://www.harpercollins.com/9780061735127/holy-war|website=Harpercollins publishers llc|access-date=13 June 2016}}</ref> It was subsequently issued as ''The Last Crusade: The Epic Voyages of Vasco da Gama'' by Harper Perennial in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Last Crusade|url=https://www.harpercollins.com/9780061735134/the-last-crusade|website=Harpercollins publishers llc|access-date=13 June 2016}}</ref> The book was published under the latter name by Atlantic in the UK<ref>{{cite web|title=Book of the Week|url=http://atlantic-books.co.uk/content/follow-last-crusade-nigel-cliff|website=Atlantic books|access-date=13 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160713172334/http://atlantic-books.co.uk/content/follow-last-crusade-nigel-cliff|archive-date=13 July 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> and under the former name in Portugal, Brazil, Japan, Russia, Turkey, Poland, China and Taiwan.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nigel Cliff official website|url=http://www.nigelcliff.com|access-date=13 June 2016}}</ref> The book was a ''New York Times'' Notable Book<ref>{{cite news|title=100 Notable Books of 2011|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/books/review/100-notable-books-of-2011.html?pagewanted=all|website=The New York Times| date=21 November 2011 |access-date=13 June 2016}}</ref> and was shortlisted for the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize<ref>{{cite web|title=English PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History 2013 shortlist announced|url=https://www.englishpen.org/prizes/english-pen-hessell-tiltman-prize-for-history-2013-shortlist-announced/|website=English PEN|access-date=13 June 2016}}</ref> and the [[Mountbatten Maritime Prize|Mountbatten Award]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.maritimefoundation.uk/awards/winners/2012-winners/ |website=Maritime Foundation |access-date=8 November 2021|title=Maritime Media Awards 2012 - Maritime Foundation }}</ref> In the ''New York Times'' Eric Ormsby wrote: "Cliff has a novelist's gift for depicting character."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ormsby|first1=Eric|title=Why Vasco da Gama Went to India|newspaper=The New York Times |date=9 September 2011|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/books/review/holy-war-by-nigel-cliff-book-review.html?_r=0|access-date=13 June 2016}}</ref> In ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' James McConnachie called the book 'stirringly epic...[a] thrilling narrative."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=McConnachie|first1=James|title=The Last Crusade|journal=Sunday Times|date=1 April 2012|url=http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/culture/books/non_fiction/article1004258.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419153303/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/culture/books/non_fiction/article1004258.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 April 2013|access-date=13 June 2016}}</ref>


Cliff's third book was a new translation and critical edition of [[The Travels of Marco Polo|''Marco Polo's Travels'']] for [[Penguin Classics]], which was released in the UK and U.S. in 2015. For this first all-new translation in a half-century, he went back to the original texts in French, Latin and Italian.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Travels|url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/183574/the-travels/|website=Penguin|accessdate=15 November 2016}}</ref>
Cliff's third book was a new translation and critical edition of [[The Travels of Marco Polo|''Marco Polo's Travels'']] for [[Penguin Classics]], which was released in the UK and U.S. in 2015. For this first all-new translation in a half-century, he went back to the original texts in French, Latin and Italian.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Travels|url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/183574/the-travels/|website=Penguin|access-date=15 November 2016}}</ref>


Cliff's fourth book, ''Moscow Nights: The Van Cliburn Story - How One Man and His Piano Transformed the Cold War'', was published by Harper in September 2016<ref>{{cite web|title=Moscow Nights|url=https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062333162/moscow-nights|website=Harpercollins publishers llc|accessdate=13 June 2016}}</ref> and subsequently in multiple translations. [[The Boston Globe]] named it a Book of the Year. In January 2017 it was named a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Alter|first1=Alexandra|title=Zadie Smith and Michael Chabon Among National Book Critics Circle Finalists|journal=New York Times|date=January 17, 2017|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/17/arts/zadie-smith-and-michael-chabon-among-national-book-critics-circle-finalists.html|accessdate=27 January 2017}}</ref> The book won Nautilus Gold And Silver Awards.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nautilus Awards|url=http://www.nautilusbookawards.com/uploads/Award_Winners_2016_rev4-28-17.pdf|website=Nautilus Award Winners|accessdate=4 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171030081609/http://www.nautilusbookawards.com/uploads/Award_Winners_2016_rev4-28-17.pdf|archive-date=30 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Cliff's fourth book, ''Moscow Nights: The Van Cliburn Story - How One Man and His Piano Transformed the Cold War'', was published by Harper in September 2016<ref>{{cite web|title=Moscow Nights|url=https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062333162/moscow-nights|website=Harpercollins publishers llc|access-date=13 June 2016}}</ref> and subsequently in multiple translations. [[The Boston Globe]] named it a Book of the Year. In January 2017 it was named a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Alter|first1=Alexandra|title=Zadie Smith and Michael Chabon Among National Book Critics Circle Finalists|journal=New York Times|date=January 17, 2017|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/17/arts/zadie-smith-and-michael-chabon-among-national-book-critics-circle-finalists.html|access-date=27 January 2017}}</ref> The book won Nautilus Gold And Silver Awards.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nautilus Awards|url=http://www.nautilusbookawards.com/uploads/Award_Winners_2016_rev4-28-17.pdf|website=Nautilus Award Winners|access-date=4 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171030081609/http://www.nautilusbookawards.com/uploads/Award_Winners_2016_rev4-28-17.pdf|archive-date=30 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Cliff married the ballerina [[Viviana Durante]] in June 2009.<ref name="The Times">{{cite news |title=Birthdays: Viviana Durante |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/birthdays-viviana-durante-zgbvnfbrs5t |accessdate=22 December 2019 |work=The Times |date=8 May 2010}}</ref> They have a son, and live in London.<ref name="DanceTabs">{{cite news |last1=Parry |first1=Jann |title=Interview – Viviana Durante: Ballerina, mother, teacher and coach of MacMillan’s Anastasia |url=https://dancetabs.com/2016/11/interview-viviana-durante-ballerina-mother-teacher-and-coach-of-macmillans-anastasia/ |accessdate=22 December 2019 |work=DanceTabs |date=8 November 2016}}</ref>
Cliff married the ballerina [[Viviana Durante]] in June 2009.<ref name="The Times">{{cite news |title=Birthdays: Viviana Durante |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/birthdays-viviana-durante-zgbvnfbrs5t |access-date=22 December 2019 |work=The Times |date=8 May 2010}}</ref> They have a son, and live in London.<ref name="DanceTabs">{{cite news |last1=Parry |first1=Jann |title=Interview – Viviana Durante: Ballerina, mother, teacher and coach of MacMillan's Anastasia |url=https://dancetabs.com/2016/11/interview-viviana-durante-ballerina-mother-teacher-and-coach-of-macmillans-anastasia/ |access-date=22 December 2019 |work=DanceTabs |date=8 November 2016}}</ref>


==Books==
==Books==

Latest revision as of 23:12, 13 August 2024

Nigel Cliff
Born (1969-12-26) 26 December 1969 (age 54)
Manchester, England
BildungWinchester College
Harris Manchester College, Oxford
Occupations
  • Historian
  • biographer
  • translator
  • columnist
Spouse
​
(m. 2009)​
Children1 son

Nigel Cliff (born 26 December 1969) is a British biographer, historian, translator and critic. In 2022 Oxford University awarded Cliff the degree of Doctor of Letters in recognition of a body of work of international importance.[1]

Biography

[edit]

Born in Manchester, Cliff was educated on scholarships at Winchester College and Harris Manchester College, Oxford University, where he gained a first-class degree and was awarded the Beddington Prize for English Literature.[2] He has been a film and theatre critic for The Times, a contributor to The Economist,[3] a columnist for Dajia, the online magazine of Tencent,[4] and a reviewer for The New York Times Book Review.[5] Cliff has lectured at Oxford University,[6] the Harry Ransom Center[7] and the British Library[8] and is a regular guest on television and radio programmes including Start the Week[9] and MSNBC's Morning Joe.[10] He was a fellow of Harris Manchester College, Oxford, from 2016 to 2021 and a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund from 2017 to 2019.[11] He also runs a ballet company[12] and has produced shows for the Barbican Centre and the Bolshoi Theatre.[13]

Career

[edit]

Cliff's first book, The Shakespeare Riots: Revenge, Drama, and Death in Nineteenth-century America, was published in the United States by Random House in 2007. Centring on a feud between leading Shakespearean actors William Charles Macready and Edwin Forrest that led to the deadly Astor Place Riot of 1849, it dramatises the birth of a distinctly American entertainment industry and demonstrates the centrality of Shakespeare to nineteenth-century American identity.

Writing in the London Review of Books, Michael Dobson called the book 'wonderful... a brilliant debut... both enthralling and scholarly."[14] In the Los Angeles Times, Phillip Lopate called it 'Brilliantly engrossing... exemplary... engaging, worldly, fluent... crammed with entertaining nuggets.'.[15] The book was a Washington Post Book of the Year[16] and was a finalist for the National Award for Arts Writing.[17] Cliff wrote the adapted screenplay for Muse Productions.[18]

Cliff's second book was Holy War: How Vasco da Gama's Epic Voyages Turned the Tide in a Centuries-old Clash of Civilisations (Harper, 2011).[19] It was subsequently issued as The Last Crusade: The Epic Voyages of Vasco da Gama by Harper Perennial in 2012.[20] The book was published under the latter name by Atlantic in the UK[21] and under the former name in Portugal, Brazil, Japan, Russia, Turkey, Poland, China and Taiwan.[22] The book was a New York Times Notable Book[23] and was shortlisted for the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize[24] and the Mountbatten Award.[25] In the New York Times Eric Ormsby wrote: "Cliff has a novelist's gift for depicting character."[26] In The Sunday Times James McConnachie called the book 'stirringly epic...[a] thrilling narrative."[27]

Cliff's third book was a new translation and critical edition of Marco Polo's Travels for Penguin Classics, which was released in the UK and U.S. in 2015. For this first all-new translation in a half-century, he went back to the original texts in French, Latin and Italian.[28]

Cliff's fourth book, Moscow Nights: The Van Cliburn Story - How One Man and His Piano Transformed the Cold War, was published by Harper in September 2016[29] and subsequently in multiple translations. The Boston Globe named it a Book of the Year. In January 2017 it was named a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.[30] The book won Nautilus Gold And Silver Awards.[31]

Personal life

[edit]

Cliff married the ballerina Viviana Durante in June 2009.[32] They have a son, and live in London.[33]

Books

[edit]
  • Cliff, Nigel (2007). The Shakespeare Riots: Revenge, Drama, and Death in Nineteenth-Century America. New York: Random House. ISBN 9780345486943.
  • Cliff, Nigel (2011). Holy War: How Vasco da Gama's Epic Voyages Turned the Tide in a Centuries-Old Clash of Civilizations. New York: Harper. ISBN 9780061735127.
  • Cliff, Nigel (2012). The Last Crusade: The Epic Voyages of Vasco da Gama. New York: Harper Perennial. ISBN 9780061735134.
  • Cliff, Nigel (2015). Marco Polo, The Travels. London: Penguin Classics. ISBN 978-0141198774.
  • Cliff, Nigel (2016). Moscow Nights: The Van Cliburn Story - How One Man and His Piano Transformed the Cold War.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Cliff, Nigel. "About Nigel". Nigel Cliff. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Oxford University Gazette" (4372). 27 July 1995. Retrieved 13 June 2016. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. ^ "Holy War". Harpercollins publishers llc.
  4. ^ "Nigel Cliff". Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  5. ^ "The New York Times - Search". New York Times. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  6. ^ "Kellogg College Creative Writing Seminar Series". 19 September 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  7. ^ Telling, Kathleen. "Bardolatry reaches fever pitch in Nigel Cliff's The Shakespeare Riots". Cultural Compass. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  8. ^ "Dying for Shakespeare". The British Library. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  9. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Start the Week, the Bolshoi and Culture Wars". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  10. ^ "The history of pianist van Cliburn and his impact on U.S.-Russia relations". MSNBC. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  11. ^ "Nigel Cliff". Royal Literary Fund. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  12. ^ "Trustees | Viviana Durante Official Website". Viviana Durante. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  13. ^ "DANCE INVERSION. International Contemporary Dance Festival". DanceInversion. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  14. ^ Dobson, Michael (2 August 2007). "Let him be Caesar!". London Review of Books. 29 (15).
  15. ^ Lopate, Phillip (15 April 2007). "What fools these mortals be". Los Angeles Times.
  16. ^ "Book World's Holiday Issue". The Washington Post. 2 December 2007.
  17. ^ "2007 Marfield Prize". Arts Club of Washington. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  18. ^ Goodridge, Mike (15 May 2011). "Muse lines up slate of hot literary adaptations". Screen International. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  19. ^ "Holy War". Harpercollins publishers llc. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  20. ^ "The Last Crusade". Harpercollins publishers llc. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  21. ^ "Book of the Week". Atlantic books. Archived from the original on 13 July 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  22. ^ "Nigel Cliff official website". Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  23. ^ "100 Notable Books of 2011". The New York Times. 21 November 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  24. ^ "English PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History 2013 shortlist announced". English PEN. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  25. ^ "Maritime Media Awards 2012 - Maritime Foundation". Maritime Foundation. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  26. ^ Ormsby, Eric (9 September 2011). "Why Vasco da Gama Went to India". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  27. ^ McConnachie, James (1 April 2012). "The Last Crusade". Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  28. ^ The Travels. Retrieved 15 November 2016. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  29. ^ "Moscow Nights". Harpercollins publishers llc. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  30. ^ Alter, Alexandra (17 January 2017). "Zadie Smith and Michael Chabon Among National Book Critics Circle Finalists". New York Times. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  31. ^ "Nautilus Awards" (PDF). Nautilus Award Winners. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  32. ^ "Birthdays: Viviana Durante". The Times. 8 May 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  33. ^ Parry, Jann (8 November 2016). "Interview – Viviana Durante: Ballerina, mother, teacher and coach of MacMillan's Anastasia". DanceTabs. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nigel_Cliff&oldid=1240174807"