About
Warren Oakley has spent many years living in the murky alleyways of the eighteenth century. He specializes in presenting old lives in new ways, especially the lives of culturally important figures from British history who have been neglected and forgotten. He has been awarded fellowships from the Folger Shakespeare Institute, Washington DC; the Houghton, Harvard University; and the Huntington, San Marino, CA. As a member of the Society of Authors (UK), he has been the recipient of its Michael Meyer Award. Since gaining his PhD at the University of Leeds, Warren has taught literature courses at several UK universities including Leeds, Hull, and St. Andrews.
Featured Work
Thomas ‘Jupiter’ Harris: Spinning Dark Intrigue at Covent Garden Theatre, 1767-1820
As novelists created elaborate storylines with fictional intriguers lurking in the shadows, Thomas Harris was the real thing. This is the first biography of Harris, proprietor and manager of Covent Garden theatre for nearly five decades, one of only two venues in London allowed by law to perform spoken drama. As a controller of the scene, he was involved in the management of a patent theatre for a longer period than anyone else in the long eighteenth century, including John Rich and David Garrick. But this theatrical career was only one of many. While deeply involved in Pitt the younger’s government, Harris worked in the Secret Service to control the propaganda machine and to spin the release of news. Moreover, he was a celebrated philanthropist, a sexual suspect, a brothel owner in the underworld of Covent Garden, and a confidant of George III at the royal court. This narrative of detection brings together a hoard of previously unknown manuscripts to construct his many lives.
(Manchester University Press)
Other Works
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A Culture of Mimicry: Laurence Sterne, His Readers and the Art of Bodysnatching (MHRA)
2010; paperback edition 2024
