Mary Beard

Apr 19, 2026 - 19:27
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Mary Beard

Early life and education: per Talk:The_History_Boys#The_inspiration_for_Hector

← Previous revision Revision as of 13:55, 19 April 2026
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Mary Beard, an only child, was born on 1 January 1955{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/aug/24/classics |title=Up Pompeii with the roguish don |first=Robert |last=McCrum |newspaper=The Guardian |date=24 August 2008 |access-date=29 July 2015}} in [[Much Wenlock]], Shropshire. Her mother, Joyce Emily Beard, was a headmistress and an enthusiastic reader. Her father, Roy Whitbread Beard,{{cite web|title=BEARD, Prof (Winifred) Mary |url-access=subscription |work=[[Debrett's People of Today]] |year=2008 |url=http://www.credoreference.com/entry/7696274 |access-date=16 July 2008}} worked as an architect in [[Shrewsbury]]. She recalled him as "a raffish public-schoolboy type and a complete wastrel, but very engaging".
Mary Beard, an only child, was born on 1 January 1955{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/aug/24/classics |title=Up Pompeii with the roguish don |first=Robert |last=McCrum |newspaper=The Guardian |date=24 August 2008 |access-date=29 July 2015}} in [[Much Wenlock]], Shropshire. Her mother, Joyce Emily Beard, was a headmistress and an enthusiastic reader. Her father, Roy Whitbread Beard,{{cite web|title=BEARD, Prof (Winifred) Mary |url-access=subscription |work=[[Debrett's People of Today]] |year=2008 |url=http://www.credoreference.com/entry/7696274 |access-date=16 July 2008}} worked as an architect in [[Shrewsbury]]. She recalled him as "a raffish public-schoolboy type and a complete wastrel, but very engaging".


Beard was educated at [[Shrewsbury High School, Shropshire|Shrewsbury High School]], a [[girls' school]] then funded as a [[direct grant grammar school]].{{cite news|last1=Laity|first1=Interview by Paul|title=A life in writing: Mary Beard, Britain's best-known classicist|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/nov/10/featuresreviews.guardianreview19|access-date=13 October 2020|work=The Guardian|date=10 November 2007}} She was taught poetry by [[Frank McEachran]],{{cite web|last1=McCrum|first1=Robert|title=Interview with Mary Beard, the classical world's most provocative figure|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/aug/24/classics|website=The Observer|access-date=4 December 2017|date=23 August 2008}} who was teaching then at the nearby [[Shrewsbury School]], and was the inspiration for schoolmaster Hector in [[Alan Bennett]]'s play ''[[The History Boys]]''.{{cite web|title=James Klugmann, a complex communist|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/geoff-andrews/james-klugmann-complex-communist|website=openDemocracy|access-date=4 December 2017|language=en}}{{dub|date=April 2026}} During the summer she would join [[archaeological excavation]]s, though the motivation was, in part, just the prospect of earning some pocket-money.
Beard was educated at [[Shrewsbury High School, Shropshire|Shrewsbury High School]], a [[girls' school]] then funded as a [[direct grant grammar school]].{{cite news|last1=Laity|first1=Interview by Paul|title=A life in writing: Mary Beard, Britain's best-known classicist|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/nov/10/featuresreviews.guardianreview19|access-date=13 October 2020|work=The Guardian|date=10 November 2007}} She was taught poetry by [[Frank McEachran]],{{cite web|last1=McCrum|first1=Robert|title=Interview with Mary Beard, the classical world's most provocative figure|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/aug/24/classics|website=The Observer|access-date=4 December 2017|date=23 August 2008}} who was teaching at the nearby [[Shrewsbury School]]. During the summer she would join [[archaeological excavation]]s, though the motivation was, in part, just the prospect of earning some pocket-money.


At 18 she sat the then-compulsory entrance exam and interview for [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]], winning a place at [[Newnham College, Cambridge|Newnham College]], a single-sex college. She had considered [[King's College, Cambridge|King's]], but rejected it when she learned the college did not offer scholarships to women.
At 18 she sat the then-compulsory entrance exam and interview for [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]], winning a place at [[Newnham College, Cambridge|Newnham College]], a single-sex college. She had considered [[King's College, Cambridge|King's]], but rejected it when she learned the college did not offer scholarships to women.
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