Taken decade by decade, Derek Jarman’s life is a virtual encapsulation of the social and cultural history of the latter half of the twentieth century, from post-war austerity through the liberated sixties and the perplexing seventies to the eighties of Aids and Thatcherism.
Always influential in artistic and film-making terms, and within the gay community, Jarman had attained before his death a figurehead status that is now very generally recognised, and can only increase with time. His extraordinary garden in Dungeness in Kent has become a major tourist attraction and his films still compel massive critical attention. Tony Peake was Derek Jarman’s literary agent, and knew him well. His authorised biography is based on first-hand interviews and primary research and does immense justice to a brilliant – and singular – subject.
Always influential in artistic and film-making terms, and within the gay community, Jarman had attained before his death a figurehead status that is now very generally recognised, and can only increase with time. His extraordinary garden in Dungeness in Kent has become a major tourist attraction and his films still compel massive critical attention. Tony Peake was Derek Jarman’s literary agent, and knew him well. His authorised biography is based on first-hand interviews and primary research and does immense justice to a brilliant – and singular – subject.
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Reviews
Remarkable man; remarkable book
Tony Peake's monumentally well-researched and fittingly respectful biography of this multifaceted personality
The best kind of biographical writing- simple and transparent- so you see through to the life
Warm, judicious and, unexpectedly, critical . . . [Peake] provides a sharp and colourful portrait not just of Jarman's own multi-faceted life but of the various personalities who played a part in it