John Batchelor's "Tennyson: To Strive, To Seek, To Find"

John Batchelor is Emeritus Professor at the University of Newcastle. He was also previously a Fellow of New College, Oxford. His books include biographies of Joseph Conrad, H. G. Wells, Virginia Woolf, and John Ruskin.

Here he shares some reflections on the idea of an adaptation of his 2012 biography, Tennyson: To Strive, To Seek, To Find:

For a film of my biography of Tennyson? I don't really like bio-pics, although I think the recent film about Turner, Mr. Turner, is a masterpiece in the genre (the portrayal of John Ruskin in that film is disappointing, though).

A biographical film about Tennyson's life would be far too long and detailed for any cinema audience to sit through it. And I cannot imagine a professional actor playing the poet with any conviction. The man who could play the role, although I don't know whether he would wish to, is not an actor. I am thinking of the present Lord Tennyson, David Tennyson (the 6th Baron Tennyson), who lives in Christchurch, New Zealand. He bears a strong resemblance to his famous ancestor.

Read more about Tennyson: To Strive, To Seek, To Find at the publisher's website.

--Marshal Zeringue