Anita Brookner

Anita Brookner was an English art historian and author known for her bleak view of life in her fiction, particularly focusing on the loneliness experienced by middle-aged women. She became the first woman to hold the Slade Professorship of Fine Art at Cambridge University.

Novelist

July 16, 1928

Cancer

March 10, 2016

87

Herne Hill, London, England

Anita Brookner, a renowned British novelist, art historian, and critic, was celebrated for her melancholic insight into human relationships and psychological nuance. Born in London to Polish Jewish immigrants, she grew up in a secular Jewish home. Before venturing into fiction writing, Brookner was a distinguished art historian, becoming the first woman to hold the Slade Professorship of Fine Art at Cambridge University in 1967. This experience deeply influenced her writing, particularly her focus on emotional undercurrents and interpersonal power dynamics.

Brookner’s debut novel, “A Start in Life,” won the esteemed Booker Prize in 1984. Some of her other notable works include “Hotel Du Lac,” “Family and Friends,” “Strangers,” “Fraud,” and “Leaving Home.” In 1990, she was awarded a CBE for her contributions to the arts. Brookner also made history as the first woman named as a trustee of the prestigious National Gallery in London. She published several volumes of art criticism throughout her career. Anita Brookner passed away on March 10, 2016.