John Vyvyan

For other people named John Vyvyan, see John Vyvyan (disambiguation).

John Vyvyan (1908–1975) was a British writer, born in Sussex. Originally trained as an archeologist, he worked with Sir Flinders Petrie in the Middle East. Vyvyan became known for his study of Shakespeare and his histories of the animal rights movement. He was the author of three books on Shakespeare, including The Shakespearean Ethic (1959), and two on the origins of anti-vivisection activism, In Pity and in Anger: A Study of the Use of Animals in Science (1969) – which documents the disputes between Frances Power Cobbe and Anna Kingsford, two prominent 19th-century British activists – and The Dark Face of Science (1971). In recognition of his contribution to Shakespearean scholarship in his trilogy, he was offered, but unable to take up, a visiting lectureship at the State University of New York. He died in Exmouth in 1975.

Selected works

• The Shakespearean Ethic. Chatto & Windus, 1959. 2nd Edition (in print), Shepheard-Walwyn, 2011.
• Shakespeare and the Rose of Love. Chatto & Windus, 1960. 2nd Edition (in print), Shepheard-Walwyn, 2013.
• In Pity and in Anger: A Study of the Use of Animals in Science. M. Joseph, 1969.
• Shakespeare and Platonic Beauty. Chatto & Windus, 1970. 2nd Edition (in print), Shepheard-Walwyn, 2013.
• The Dark Face of Science. M. Joseph, 1971.
• Sketch for a World Picture: A Study of Evolution. M. Joseph, 1972.

Further reading

• Badawi, M. M. "Shakespeare and the Rose of Love", Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Summer, 1961), pp. 332–335.
• Elliott, G. R. "The Shakespearean Ethic", Renaissance News, Vol. 13, No. 3 (Autumn, 1960), pp. 246–248.
• Ellrodt, Robert. "Shakespeare and Platonic Beauty", The Modern Language Review. Vol. 58, No. 1 (Jan., 1963), p. 93.
• Schanzer, Ernest. "Shakespeare and Platonic Beauty", Review of English Studies, New Series, Vol. 14, No. 53 (Feb., 1963), pp. 79–81.