Lane Fox, Robin 1946-

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Lane Fox, Robin 1946-
(Robin James Lane Fox)

PERSONAL:

Born October 5, 1946; son of James Henry and Anne Lane Fox; married Louisa Caroline Mary Farrell, June 26, 1970 (divorced, 1993); children: Martha, Henry. Hobbies and other interests: Gardening, hunting, traveling.

ADDRESSES:

Office—New College, Oxford University, Holywell St., Oxford OX1 3BN, England. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer, historian, actor, and educator. Oxford University, Oxford, England, Magdalen College, fellow, 1970-73, Worcester College, lecturer in classics, 1974-76, fellow, classical and Islamic history, 1976-77, New College, fellow and tutor in ancient history, 1977—, university reader in ancient history, 1990—, college tutor for oriental studies, garden master, 1979—. Appeared in motion picture, Alexander. Appeared as himself in documentaries and videos, including Charging for Alexander, 2004; Perfect Is the Enemy of Good, 2005; and The Death of Alexander, 2005.

MEMBER:

Beefsteak.

AWARDS, HONORS:

British Press Award, leisure journalist of the year, 1988.

WRITINGS:

Alexander the Great, Allen Lane (London, England), 1973, Dial Press (New York, NY), 1974, revised edition with a new preface by the author, Folio Society (London, England), 1997.

Variations on a Garden, Macmillan (London, England), 1974, revised and enlarged edition, R&L (Oxford, England), 1986.

(Author of introduction) W. Robinson, The Wild Garden; or, The Naturalization and Natural Grouping of Hardy Exotic Plants, with a Chapter on the Garden of British Wild Flowers, Scolar Press (London, England), 1977.

The Search for Alexander, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1980.

Better Gardening, R & L (Beckley, England), 1982.

(Editor) V. Sackville-West, The Illustrated Garden Book, illustrated by Freda Titford, photographs by Ken Kirkwood, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1986.

Pagans and Christians, Viking (Harmondsworth, England), 1986, Knopf (New York, NY), 1987.

The Unauthorized Version: Truth and Fiction in the Bible, Knopf (New York, NY), 1992.

(Editor) The Long March: Xenophon and the Ten Thousand, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 2004.

The Classical World: An Epic History from Homer to Hadrian, Allen Lane (London, England), 2005, Basic Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor to periodicals, including the New York Review of Books and Times (London, England). Author of gardening column, Financial Times, 1970—.

SIDELIGHTS:

Author and educator Robin Lane Fox is a noted historian and the author of works that have become standard reference works in their field. Alexander the Great, first published in 1973 and reprinted numerous times since, is considered by many critics to be a definitive work on the ancient ruler. As part of his compensation for being historical consultant for the motion picture Alexander, Lane Fox requested that he be allowed to ride in military charges filmed for the movie. An accomplished horseman, Lane Fox was eventually permitted to participate in the filmmaking, and he can be seen charging forward in the movie's key battle scenes.

Lane Fox also writes widely on the classical world and on early Christianity and related topics. In Pagans and Christians, he delves deeply into the beliefs, attitudes, and mindsets of early practitioners of Christianity and the pagans who predated and coexisted with them. Rather than dwell on the thoughts and writings of known Christian thinkers and writers, "Fox is far more interested in the attitudes of peasants and merchants," offering thorough analysis of "Christian and pagan attitudes toward death, the state, marriage, and the weather," commented James Gardner in the National Review. Lane Fox explores not only the age of transition from paganism to Christianity, but its effects on the people who lived during that time. Gardner called the book "a sober, sedate inquiry into the state of humanity during a period of transformation so slow as to be imperceptible except from a distance of centuries."

Lane Fox's interests also cover the Christian Bible and scriptures, and in The Unauthorized Version: Truth and Fiction in the Bible, he "simply asks the questions which any intelligent reader of the Bible must ponder," noted an Economist reviewer. Among those questions are the origins of the books of the Bible, particularly when, where, and why they were composed. Lane Fox also considers the significant question of if, and how, the Bible was altered or rewritten as it passed from generation to generation and translation to translation. He also questions whether narratives in the Bible can be compared and tested against independent evidence or other forms of secular proof. "His answers to these questions are delivered with authority and verve," stated the Economist reviewer. "Learned but never pedantic, he is an unfailingly incisive, thought-provoking, humane, courteous and often entertaining guide to that rambling house and its bizarre contents." Fox "concludes that the Bible may not be historical but it has power as a mirror of humanity rather than divinity," observed a Publishers Weekly critic.

With The Classical World: An Epic History from Homer to Hadrian, Lane Fox offers a study that focuses on ancient concepts of justice, freedom, and luxury, particularly as they were conceived and practiced in Athens and Rome. He provides "insightful passages on art, religion, technology, marriage, and the prominent role of homosexuality in classical culture," commented a Publishers Weekly critic. He looks at a time period from roughly the eighth century B.C.E. to the second century C.E., before Christianity became firmly established. In assessing The Classical World, Booklist reviewer Jay Freeman called Lane Fox a "masterful writer whose elegant but highly readable prose offers an evolving portrait of Greek and Roman culture." Reviewer Peter Heather, writing in the London Times, remarked: "This is a highly informative and hugely entertaining book. Its chapters provide an excellent introduction to almost every area of ancient history, and the further reading at the back is an excellent guide on where to go next." Lane Fox, Heather concluded, "has given us a magnificent, panoramic introduction to the ancient world."