ABSTRACT
The best obituaries, therefore, avoid the voice of mourning. But they do have their serious side as well: they serve as biographies in miniature, as important instruments of historical record, and they deliver society’s first verdict on a life lived. They differ from the standard news story about death in this respect: obituary writers offer an appraisal of their subjects in much the same way that newspaper critics evaluate films, plays, books and restaurants for their readers. That critical approach is apparent in these classic Times character studies:
Dame Barbara Cartland (author of romantic novels) There was a dashing vulgarity, careless of the censure of the literati, in
a performance which shamelessly and repeatedly broke the world record for annual production of novels and gave her, quite absurdly, the longest entry in Who’s Who… Cartland grew old in a unique style that she thought graceful and many others found grotesque. She simply refused to compromise with age, and though the focus grew softer and softer, she continued to dress like a dazzling starlet of the 1940s. Diamantes remained the old girl’s best friend.
