A short life of the author
Clive James (1939–2019) was born Vivian Leopold James on 7 October 1939 in Kogarah, Sydney, Australia. He studied at the University of Sydney and Cambridge, where he was a member of Footlights. He became a fixture of British intellectual life as a television critic, presenter, poet, essayist, and memoirist.
Life and Career
Unreliable Memoirs (1980) — the first volume of his autobiography, about growing up in post-war Sydney — is one of the funniest books in the English language. Four sequels followed, covering his years in London, literary journalism, and television.
As a critic, James was prolific: his Observer television columns became celebrated for their wit and precision. Cultural Amnesia (2007) — a panoramic critical survey of over a hundred figures from the arts and politics of the twentieth century — is his most substantial prose work: a lifetime’s reading distilled into brilliant miniature essays.
In his final years, diagnosed with terminal illness, he produced poetry of extraordinary power — Sentenced to Life (2015) and The River in the Sky (2018) — that confronted mortality with characteristic intelligence and grace.
Major Works and Themes
James wrote about culture, politics, language, and mortality with wit, erudition, and a refusal of cant. He was equally at home writing about Proust and about television.
Key Works
- Unreliable Memoirs (1980)
- Cultural Amnesia (2007)
- Sentenced to Life (2015)
Collecting James
Unreliable Memoirs first edition (Jonathan Cape, 1980) brings $30–$60. His extensive bibliography makes selective collecting the practical approach. James died in 2019.