Robin Lane Fox
| Robin Lane Fox | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robin James Lane Fox 5 October 1946 |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Eton Magdalen College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Educator, author |
| Known for | Historian of classical antiquity |
Robin James Lane Fox, FRSL (born 5 October 1946[1]) is an English historian of antiquity and a gardening writer.[2]
Lane Fox is an Emeritus Fellow of New College, Oxford, and Reader in Ancient History, University of Oxford. Fellow and Tutor in Ancient History at New College from 1977 to 2012, he serves as Garden Master and as Extraordinary Lecturer in Ancient History for both New and Exeter Colleges. He has also taught Greek and Latin literature and early Islamic history.[3][4]
His major publications, for which he has won literary prizes including the James Tait Black Award,[5] the Duff Cooper Prize,[6] the W.H. Heinemann Award[7] and the Runciman Award,[8] include studies of Alexander the Great and Ancient Macedon, Late Antiquity, Christianity and Paganism, the Bible and history, and the Greek Dark Ages.
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Career [edit]
Lane Fox was educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford, of which he was a Fellow 1970–73.[1] Like his fellow historians Paul Cartledge and Alan Cameron, and philosophers Terence Irwin and John McDowell,[9] he was an undergraduate student of G.E.M. de Ste. Croix, whom he succeeded at New College in 1977 after a lectureship and Fellowship at Worcester College, Oxford.[1][10]
Other important influences on his contributions to the study of ancient history include Louis Robert,[11] Peter Brown,[12] E.R. Dodds,[12] Timothy Barnes,[12] E.J. Bickerman,[13] Martin Litchfield West,[14] Walter Burkert,[14] and his long-standing New College colleague W.G. (George) Forrest.[15]
He was historical advisor to the film director Oliver Stone for the epic Alexander. His appearance as an extra in cavalry manoeuvres, in addition to his work as a historical consultant, was publicised at the time of the film's release.[16][17][18] Lane Fox has expressed trenchant views on the relationship between Ancient Macedon and the modern Republic of Macedonia.[19]
He wrote and presented Greek Myths: Tales of Travelling Heroes, which was first broadcast on BBC Four at 9:00pm on 15 November 2010.[20]
Lane Fox is the gardening correspondent of the Financial Times and an outspoken opponent of garden gnomes.[21]
Family [edit]
He is the father of entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox, who co-founded Lastminute.com, and Henry Lane Fox, CEO of The Browser website.[22]
Selected publications [edit]
- Alexander the Great (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1974, ISBN 978-99934-40-04-8) (awarded James Tait Black Memorial Prize)
- The Search for Alexander (London: Viking, 1981, ISBN 978-0-7139-1395-8)
- Pagans and Christians: In the Mediterranean World from the Second Century AD to the Conversion of Constantine (London: Viking, 1986, ISBN 978-0-670-80848-9; Penguin Books Ltd new edition, 2006, ISBN 978-0-14-102295-6)
- Better Gardening (London: David R. Godine Publ., 1986, ISBN 978-0-87923-611-3)
- The Unauthorised Version: Truth and Fiction in the Bible (1991; new edition by Penguin Books Ltd, 2006, ISBN 978-0-14-102296-3)
- The Making of "Alexander": The Official Guide to the Epic Alexander Film (London: R & L (Lane Fox), 2004, ISBN 978-0-9511392-1-9)
- The Classical World: An Epic History from Homer to Hadrian (London: Allen Lane, 2005, ISBN 978-0-7139-9853-5)
- Page, Russell, The Education of a Gardener (New York Review of Books reprint, 2007), preface by Robin Lane Fox
- Travelling Heroes: Greeks and Their Myths in the Epic Age of Homer (London: Allen Lane, 2008, ISBN 978-0-7139-9980-8)
References [edit]
- ^ a b c Robin Lane Fox profile at Debrett's People of Today
- ^ Review of Lane Fox in The Independent
- ^ http://www.new.ox.ac.uk/fellows/robin.lane-fox
- ^ http://www.exeter.ox.ac.uk/teachingandresearch/classics/
- ^ Lane Fox profile at the Tait Black website
- ^ Lane Fox profile at the Duff Cooper Prize website
- ^ "Lane Fox profile". Folio Society. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
- ^ Profile of Lane Fox at the Runciman Award winners webpage of the Anglo-Hellenic League
- ^ Ste Croix, The Origins of the Peloponnesian War, xii
- ^ Review of Lane Fox's Traveling Heroes in The Independent
- ^ Pagans and Christians, p. 10
- ^ a b c Pagans and Christians, p. 8
- ^ The Unauthorized Version, p. 9
- ^ a b Travelling Heroes, xiii
- ^ Travelling Heroes, p. xiv
- ^ "Into Battle With Alexander", The Times, 4 May 2004.
- ^ "Why the lowly shepherd is the one who gets to hear the angels", 20 December 2011, The Telegraph
- ^ Profile in The Spectator
- ^ YouTube
- ^ Greek Myths: Tales of Travelling Heroes, BBC Four, BBC, UK.
- ^ "Gnomes spark row over fairies at Chelsea", The Independent
- ^ Henry Lane Fox profile in The Telegraph
- 1946 births
- Living people
- People educated at Eton College
- Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
- English historians
- English garden writers
- BBC television presenters
- Fellows of New College, Oxford
- Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature
- Scholars of ancient Greek history
- English classical scholars
- James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients
