A captivating authorised biography of the legendary writer Jan Morris.

'Wonderful.' Paul Theroux
'Brilliant.' Simon Jenkins
'Superb.' Colin Thubron
'Breathtakingly good.' Michael Palin

A captivating authorised biography of the legendary writer Jan Morris.

She was the twentieth century. Who wouldn't want to write her biography?

When Jan Morris joined the 1953 Everest expedition and was first to get news of the ascent back to London, she became the most famous journalist in the world. So began a glittering career covering the Eichmann trial, interviewing Che Guevara and scooping the story of Suez collusion. Morris transitioned in the early seventies and documented the experience in Conundrum. She was a pioneer and her books, including Venice and the Pax Britannica trilogy, have inspired readers across the globe.

Here, renowned travel writer and biographer Sara Wheeler uncovers the complexity of this twentieth-century icon to reveal a mosaic of contradictions. Morris's work conjured the spirit of place, yet her late masterpiece Trieste celebrates 'the meaning of nowhere'; she was a Welsh nationalist who wasn't Welsh; a preacher of kindness with a cruel side. This is a portrait of an astonishing life, and a scintillating story of longing, travel and never reaching home.

Details

ISBN13: 9780571379453
Format: Hardback
Number of Pages: 432
Edition: Main
Publication Date: 07 Jul 2026
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Publication City, Country: London, United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 23.4(H)x15.3(L)
Weight (gm):

Author Biography

Sara Wheeler is an award-winning and internationally bestselling travel writer and biographer, and a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio; like Jan Morris, she has spent half her working life on the road. Her eleven books include Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica and Cherry: A Life of Apsley Cherry-Garrard. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a contributing editor of the Literary Review.

Reviews