Wykes, David 1941–

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Wykes, David 1941–

PERSONAL:

Born 1941, in England; immigrated to the United States, 1972; naturalized U.S. citizen, 1998. Education: Oxford University, B.A., 1962; Miami University, Oxford, OH, M.A., 1964; University of Virginia, Ph.D., 1967. Hobbies and other interests: Recorded music, French, Aston Villa Football Club.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Department of English, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

University of Nottingham, Nottingham, England, assistant lecturer, 1967-68; University of Trondheim, Trondheim, Norway, lecturer, 1968-69; Oxford University, Trinity College, Oxford, England, junior research fellow, 1969-72; Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, assistant professor, 1972-77, associate professor, 1977-85, professor, 1985-2008.

MEMBER:

Phi Beta Kappa.

WRITINGS:

A Preface to Dryden, Longman (New York, NY), 1977.

A Preface to Orwell, Longman (New York, NY), 1987.

Evelyn Waugh: A Literary Life, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1999.

Contributor to academic journals.

SIDELIGHTS:

In Evelyn Waugh: A Literary Life, David Wykes provides both biography and criticism of the British writer. According to Diane Gardner's review in Library Journal, "In his portrait of Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966), Wykes … strikes a balance between chronicling his subject's life and examining his work. Wykes traces Waugh's emotional and creative life from birth." Bryce Christensen, in a review for Booklist, considered Wykes's answer to one of his questions concerning Waugh. "How did Waugh transform the raw stuff of experience into the art of fiction? Wykes' nuanced answer reveals that as Waugh's early relish in the sheer hilarity of social chaos gave away to a deeper sense of human misery." New York Times Book Review critic Richard Eder wrote of Wykes's work with Waugh's A Handful of Dust, "Wykes analyzes ‘Handful’ brilliantly, asserts a sharp decline once religion turned explicit." Even in instances where his opinion opposes Wykes's, Eder noted Wykes's sincere respect for his subjects. "Wykes's study is acute, perceptive, stylishly written and passionately appreciative of Waugh at his best…. He is so intelligently right so much of the time that it is exhilarating once or twice to think him wrong."

Earlier works by Wykes also received critical attention. Choice reviewer P. Schlueter wrote of A Preface to Orwell: "Wykes's relatively brief book on Orwell packs a remarkably full account of Orwell's life and writings and offers a number of strengths rarely found in critical works. For one thing, he emphasizes the sheer pleasure of reading Orwell, often overlooked by thematically centered criticism," Of A Preface to Dryden a critic for Choice pointed out: "Although addressed to the hypothetically ‘new reader’ and distinctly introductory, this book is not elementary in any sense. It openly confronts questions about Dryden's career, literary concepts in the period, Dryden's philosophy, ideas, and politics." According to Phillip Harth, writing for Philological Quarterly: "The student just coming to Dryden will find this attractive book a brisk account of his life and works…. Without attempting to break new ground, Wykes provides an up to date and accurate survey of recent scholarship and criticism."