Peter Ackroyd Summary

"Biographers are simply novelists without imagination": in one of the fanciful interchapters of his biography Dickens (1990), Peter Ackroyd imagines hearing this sentiment from Charles Dickens. The st... Read more

In the following review of Hawksmoor, Rykwert praises Ackroyd's literary skill, but finds flaws in the novel's historical details. Christchurch, Spitalfields: St George-in-the-East; St A... Read more

In the following essay, Finney provides an overview of Ackroyd's theoretical development and postmodern perspective—particularly his view of history, language, and authenticity, as revea... Read more

In the following review, Goodrich offers an unfavorable assessment of English Music. Peter Ackroyd, the English novelist and biographer, has published nearly a dozen books, among them Dickens: Life an... Read more

In the following review, Levenson traces the development of Ackroyd's literary preoccupations and criticizes his conservative nostalgia for English history and cultural identity as presented in... Read more

In the following review, King concludes that The House of Doctor Dee is an “imperfect but always ingenious and arresting novel.” Scientist, mathematician, geographer, astronomer, antiqua... Read more

In the following essay, Peck provides an overview of the major literary themes and postmodern narrative effects in Ackroyd's fiction, including extended analysis of Hawksmoor, Chatterton, and F... Read more

In the following review, Meyer offers a positive assessment of The Trial of Elizabeth Cree. In the literary pantheon the mystery or detective novel is largely relegated to an inferior rung on the ladd... Read more

In the following interview, originally conducted on November 23, 1995, Ackroyd discusses his early life, his literary influences, his development from poet to novelist and biographer, and his views on... Read more

In the following review, Clute offers a tempered assessment of Milton in America, which, he concludes, “is a hard book to judge.” It is his most presumptuous act of possession to date, P... Read more

In the following review, Hutchings offers a favorable assessment of The Trial of Elizabeth Cree. With the detailed knowledge of Victorian London that was reflected in his biography of Charles Dickens,... Read more

In the following review, Glover offers an unfavorable assessment of The Life of Thomas More. It seems a long time since Peter Ackroyd published his last book, a novel about the surprising appearance o... Read more

In the following interview, Ackroyd discusses his literary career, his imaginative historical fiction, and the interrelationship between his work as a biographer and novelist. At 38, Peter Ackroyd has... Read more

In the following essay, Koos discusses elements of pastiche and the detective novel genre in Ackroyd's fiction, particularly as found in Chatterton. Lönnrot thought of himself as a pure ... Read more

In the following review, Green offers an extended negative evaluation of The Plato Papers and comments unfavorably on Ackroyd's postmodern aesthetic. I. What drives anyone to speculate, or, wor... Read more

In the following review of Chatterton, Neve commends Ackroyd's commitment to “the limitless power of the imagination,” though he finds fault in the novel's historical skept... Read more

In the following review, Firchow offers a positive assessment of Chatterton. Peter Ackroyd is rapidly becoming the next novelist to watch. One sign of his newly acquired status is the appearance of Ch... Read more

In the following review of Dickens, Pritchard finds shortcomings in Ackroyd's “rhetorical habits” and the biography's contribution toward greater understanding of Charles D... Read more