Vernon, Roland 1961-

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VERNON, Roland 1961-

PERSONAL:

Born 1961. Education: Attended Eton College, King's College Cambridge, and the Royal College of Music.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Somerset, England. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Sentient Publications, 1113 Spruce St., Boulder, CO 80302.

CAREER:

Writer.

WRITINGS:

Introducing Beethoven, Belitha Press (London, England), 1994.

Introducing Bach, Belitha Press (London, England), 1995.

Introducing Chopin, Belitha Press (London, England), 1995.

Introducing Gershwin, Belitha Press (London, England), 1995.

Introducing Mozart, Belitha Press (London, England), 1997.

Introducing Verdi, Belitha Press (London, England), 1996.

Introducing Vilvaldi, Belitha Press (London, England), 1996.

Introducing Stravinsky, Belitha Press (London, England), 1997.

Star in the East: Krishnamurti—The Invention of a Messiah, Sentient Publications (Boulder, CO), 2001.

SIDELIGHTS:

Roland Vernon went to school to study music. He began his career writing a series of books known as the "Introducing Composers" series. The books use a combination of text and illustrations to introduce students to several famous composers including, Beethoven, Bach, and Vilvaldi. Of the set, Robin Works Davis of School Library Journal noted, "overviews of the composers' lives have visually interesting page lay-outs with plenty of full-color drawings, photographs and engravings to catch readers' eyes. Sidebars give additional details."

Vernon began his next work while contemplating writing a biography on Annie Besant. Besant was a socialist who was part of the Theosophical Society in the early twentieth century. Vernon's research on Besant led him to write about Krishnamurti, the Theosophical Society's messiah and Besant's student. In an interview for Soul to Spirit, Vernon stated, "from the start I was in awe of the consistency of the man. Krishnamurti's real contribution is that he was one of the giants of the west's spriritual revolution-eastwards. His legacy is that he opened a door on Western religious attitudes." A reviewer for the Library Journal stated, "Vernon offers a compelling account of the legendary Krishnamurti. With penetrating anaylsis, the author sifts through controversies surrounding Krishna's tutelage."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 1, 1996, Ilene Cooper, review of Introducing Gershwin, p. 1504.

Library Journal, March 1, 2001, Theola S. Labbe, review of Star in the East: Krishnamurti—The Invention of a Messiah, p. 104.

Publishers Weekly, March 26, 2001, Theola S. Labbe, review of Star in the East: Krishnamurti—The Invention of a Messiah, p. 26.

School Library Journal, September 1996, Robin Works Davis, review of Introducing Gershwin, p. 221; January 1997, Tim Wadham, review of Introducing Bach, p. 136.