KELLY, Laurence 1933-

PERSONAL: Born April 11, 1933, in Brussels, Belgium; son of Sir David (an ambassador) and Lady Marie Noel (de Jourda de Vaux) Kelly; married Alison Linda McNair Scott (a writer); children: Rosanna, Rachel, Nicholas. Education: Downside, New College Oxford, M.A., 1955; attended Harvard University, 1958-59. Religion: Roman Catholic. Hobbies and other interests: Swimming.

ADDRESSES: Home—44 Ladbroke Grove, London W11 2PA, England. Agent—A. M. Heath & Co., 40 William IV St., London WC2, England.

CAREER: Businessman and writer. Lieutenant Life Guards, 1949-52; served FO (Northern Department), 1955-56; Guest Keen and Nettlefolds, 1956-72; Northern Ireland Development Agency, Belfast, member of board of directors, 1972-78; chairman of the board, Queensborough Steel Co., 1980-89; director, Morganite International Ltd. Vice chairman of British Iron and Steel Consumers' Council, 1975-92; member, Monopolies and Mergers' Commission, 1982-88; St. Antony's College, Oxford, senior associate member, 1985-92.

MEMBER: Royal Geographical Society (fellow), Brooks Club, Beefsteak Club, Turf Club, Kildare Club, University Club (Dublin, Ireland).

WRITINGS:

Lermontov: Tragedy in the Caucasus, Constable (London, England), 1977, Braziller, 1978.

(Editor) St. Petersburg: A Traveller's Companion, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1983.

(Editor) Moscow: A Traveller's Companion, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1984.

(Editor) Istanbul: A Traveller's Companion, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1987.

Diplomacy and Murder in Tehran: Alexander Griboyedov and Imperial Russia's Mission to the Shah of Persia, I.B. Tauris (London, England), 2002.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Research on Russian and Turkish subjects.

SIDELIGHTS: Discussing Laurence Kelly's biography Lermontov: Tragedy in the Caucasus in the New York Times Book Review, Fitzroy Maclean remarked that "Until now there has been no really good biography of [Russian poet and novelist Mikhail Lermontov] . . . in English," but that Kelly's "admirable new work brilliantly satisfies this need. Not only is it scholarly and well researched . . . , it is also extremely well written and highly readable, combining informed literary criticism with a decided gift for narrative and biographical detail." Simon Blow, writing in the Spectator, focused on the peculiar problem faced by any biographer of the writer: "With A Hero for Our Time Lermontov wrote the best life of himself that can be written, since for conventional biography his actions lack the substance that fiction can give them. It is a problem that Laurence Kelly has not overcome, but he has supplied a more than generous section of reference and bibliography, by way of proven scholarship." Blow believed Kelly's biography "should help to give his reputation a timely push, besides making a fascinating study of an author dominated by his fictional self."

In 2002 Kelly authored the first English-language biography of Alexander Griboyedov, titled Diplomacy and Murder in Tehran: Alexander Griboyedov and Imperial Russia's Mission to the Shah of Persia. Kelly's entertaining portrayal recounts the life of the playwright, ambassador, and diplomat who died tragically in 1829. Recognized as a brilliant writer and contemporary of Alexandr Pushkin, Griboyedov penned one of the great Russian plays of the nineteenth century, Woe for Wit. Griboyedov began a new career in 1828 when he was appointed minister to Persia, where he helped promote Russian imperialism in the region. Although adored in his homeland, his ruthless behavior in carrying out the czar's policy in Persia led to his eventual death at the age of thirty-four. Sunday Telegraph contributor George Walden praised Kelly's book as containing the "exotic life of a supremely talented but (in the West) little-known Russian, a well-told, informative tale, contemporary relevance—what more could the reader ask?"

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

British Book News, May, 1987, review of Istanbul: ATravellers' Companion, p. 294.

Financial Times, January 12, 2002, Jan Dalley, review of Diplomacy and Murder in Tehran: Alexander Griboyedov and Imperial Russia's Mission to the Shah of Persia, p. 5.

Middle East, March 2002, Fred Rhodes, review of Diplomacy and Murder in Tehran, p. 41.

New Yorker, March 20, 1978.

New York Times Book Review, March 5, 1978, June 3, 1984;

Spectator, December 17, 1977, December 12, 1981; November 28, 1987, review of Istanbul: A Travellers' Companion, p. 28; January 12, 2002, Philip Hensher, review of Diplomacy and Murder in Tehran, p. 32.

Sunday Telegraph, January 13, 2002, George Walden, review of Diplomacy and Murder in Tehran, p. 16.

Sunday Times, February 17, 2002, Philip Mansel, review of Diplomacy and Murder in Tehran, p. 41.

Times Literary Supplement, September 18, 1987, review of Istanbul: A Travellers' Companion, p. 1010; January 25 2002, John Bayley, review of Diplomacy and Murder in Tehran, p. 32.*