Peter Barnes Biography | Author of The Ruling Class

This Study Guide consists of approximately 60 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Ruling Class.

Peter Barnes Biography | Author of The Ruling Class

This Study Guide consists of approximately 60 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Ruling Class.
This section contains 423 words
(approx. 2 pages at 400 words per page)
Buy The Ruling Class Study Guide

Peter Barnes was born January 10, 1931, on London's East Side to parents of mixed religious backgrounds. His father was a British Protestant who willingly and rather superficially converted to Judaism to marry a Jewish woman. Although the family was not particularly religious, Barnes developed a fascination with the topic of religious belief and God, a fascination he explores in most of his major works. His other major theme is also believed to have originated from his family: an obsession with the ruling elite, its excesses and perversions—a contrast with his own working-class upbringing. Barnes did not finish secondary school and did not attend university but rather educated himself, believing that formal schooling corrupts the true artist.

Through his studies, Barnes developed a deep appreciation for Elizabethan playwright Ben Jonson (The Alchemist), considering his work superior to that of his contemporary William Shakespeare, whom Barnes found snobbish...

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This section contains 423 words
(approx. 2 pages at 400 words per page)
Buy The Ruling Class Study Guide
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The Ruling Class from Gale. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.