Hermione Eyre (born 1980) is a British journalist, novelist, and former child actor.

Hermione Eyre
OccupationJournalist, novelist
LanguageEnglish
NationalityBritish
Alma materHertford College, Oxford
GenreHistorical fiction
Notable worksViper Wine
SpouseAlex Burghart
Website
www.hermioneeyre.com

Early life edit

Hermione Eyre was born in 1980. Her parents were Sir Reginald Eyre, a British Conservative party politician, and Anne Clements.[1][2] Her godmother was the actress Hermione Gingold, who was a friend of her mother and her namesake.[3]

Eyre studied at Rugby School, joining at the age of 13 in the first year that the school admitted girls.[4]

Eyre read English at Hertford College, Oxford.[5][6]

After university, Eyre trained as a croupier at the Bermondsey Casino Training Centre,[7] and worked for a year at a London casino, dealing roulette and blackjack.[8]

Career edit

Acting edit

At the age of 7, Eyre acted in About Face, a sitcom with Maureen Lipman. She also acted as a young Agatha Christie in a BBC production. In 1990, Eyre obtained a role as Zinnie in the film The Children with Kim Novak and Ben Kingsley.[9]

Aged 12, Eyre acted in her final role – as the Kid Clementina in an episode of the television series Jeeves and Wooster.[10]

Journalism edit

Eyre worked at The Independent as a staff writer for seven years. She was also a television critic for that newspaper.[11]

Eyre is known for her long-form interviews with celebrities, publishing her works in the London Evening Standard Magazine, where she is a contributing editor.[12] She has also written for the New Statesman,[13] and The Spectator.[14]

Books edit

Eyre co-wrote The Dictionary of National Celebrity in 2005.[15]

In 2014, she published a work of historical fiction Viper Wine, featuring Venetia Stanley and Kenelm Digby,[16] which was nominated for the Folio Prize,[17] and short-listed for the Walter Scott Prize.[18] Her novel won the Kitschies: Golden Tentacle award for best debut.[19]

Eyre cites Borges, Dorothy Parker and Charles Dickens as influences.[8]


Personal life edit

Eyre lives in Archway, London. In 2012, she married Alex Burghart, now a Conservative MP.[20] Their daughter, Sybilla, was born in 2013.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ Dodd, Ros (3 July 1999). "Home is where the heart is..." Birmingham Post. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Who will marry Prince George?". Tatler. 31 October 2013. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  3. ^ "Botox, Bowie, and Beauty Standards: An inteview [sic] with Hermione Eyre on her debut novel Viper Wine". Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  4. ^ Eyre, Hermione (5 January 2008). "Was Flashman's world really no place for a girl?". The Independent. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  5. ^ "Hermione Eyre". British Humanist Association. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  6. ^ "Alex Preston, Hermione Eyre, Claire McGowan: three Hertford tutees turned novelists" (PDF). Hertford College Magazine (92): 16. 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  7. ^ Eyre, Hermione (4 February 2007). "Casino confessional". The Independent. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  8. ^ a b Shea, Lisa (23 April 2015). "A hallucinogenic novel about beauty standards centuries before Botox". Elle. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  9. ^ Eyre, Hermione (9 December 2007). "Child stars: Here's looking at you, kids". The Independent. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  10. ^ Taves, Brian (5 July 2006). P.G. Wodehouse and Hollywood: Screenwriting, Satires and Adaptations. McFarland. pp. 194–. ISBN 978-0-7864-8443-0.
  11. ^ "Hermione Eyre". United Agents. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  12. ^ "Hermione Eyre". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  13. ^ "Hermione Eyre". New Statesman. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  14. ^ "Hermione Eyre". The Spectator. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  15. ^ Taylor, David J. (16 November 2005). "Reassuring contempt". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  16. ^ London: Jonathan Cape. ISBN 9780224097598
  17. ^ Flood, Alison (15 December 2014). "Folio prize reveals 80 titles in contention for 2015 award". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  18. ^ Eyre, Charlotte (25 March 2015). "Walter Scott shortlist announced". The Bookseller. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  19. ^ Flood, Alison (5 March 2015). "Kitschie awards judges overpowered by six-foot praying mantises". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  20. ^ "Golden Touch". Brides Magazine. 4 February 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2015.