What do you think?
Rate this book
Hand Luggage: A Personal Anthology
Book by Bayley, John
- GenresBooks About Books
Hardcover
First published July 1, 2001
About the author
John Bayley
122 books25 followersProfessor John Bayley CBE, FBA, FRSL was a British literary critic and writer.
Bayley was born in Lahore, British India, and educated at Eton, where he studied under G. W. Lyttelton, who also taught Aldous Huxley, J.B.S. Haldane, George Orwell and Cyril Connolly. After leaving Eton, he went on to take a degree at New College, Oxford. From 1974 to 1992, Bayley was Warton Professor of English at Oxford. He is also a novelist and writes literary criticism for several newspapers. He edited Henry James' The Wings of the Dove and a two-volume selection of James' short stories.
From 1956 until her death in 1999, he was married to the writer Dame Iris Murdoch. When she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, he wrote the book Iris: A Memoir of Iris Murdoch, which was made into the 2001 film Iris by Richard Eyre. In this film, Bayley was portrayed in his early years by Hugh Bonneville, and in his later years by Jim Broadbent, who won an Oscar for the performance. After Murdoch's death he married Audi Villers, a family friend. He was awarded the CBE in 1999.
Bayley was born in Lahore, British India, and educated at Eton, where he studied under G. W. Lyttelton, who also taught Aldous Huxley, J.B.S. Haldane, George Orwell and Cyril Connolly. After leaving Eton, he went on to take a degree at New College, Oxford. From 1974 to 1992, Bayley was Warton Professor of English at Oxford. He is also a novelist and writes literary criticism for several newspapers. He edited Henry James' The Wings of the Dove and a two-volume selection of James' short stories.
From 1956 until her death in 1999, he was married to the writer Dame Iris Murdoch. When she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, he wrote the book Iris: A Memoir of Iris Murdoch, which was made into the 2001 film Iris by Richard Eyre. In this film, Bayley was portrayed in his early years by Hugh Bonneville, and in his later years by Jim Broadbent, who won an Oscar for the performance. After Murdoch's death he married Audi Villers, a family friend. He was awarded the CBE in 1999.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 29, 2026
Bayley, John in Hand Luggage: A Personal Anthology pushes the idea that being busy has become a status symbol, and we're all quietly competing to look more exhausted than the next guy. I felt like it was solid, because the examples come from regular people with regular jobs, not some CEO who "wakes up at 4:30 to journal." The chapter on weekends got me thinking about why I answer work emails from the grocery store. You don't have to agree with everything, but it definitely forces you to rethink what you're actually proud of when you say "slammed."
November 2, 2026
Not gonna lie, I disagreed with John Bayley about half the time in Hand Luggage: A Personal Anthology and still couldn't stop reading. That's rare. The argument is bold, a little half-baked in places, and way more fun than a careful book would've been. Pick it up if you like a good fight, skip it if you want balance.
September 18, 2013
I have enjoyed dipping into his very "personal anthology" of literary passages entitled simply Hand Luggage. This appropriate title is a book of literary prose extracts and poetry samplings that he culled from his years of reading. It impressed me as a sort of "commonplace" book of a type that I have had increasing enjoyment among my readings. I share his use of books as hand luggage whenever I am traveling around town or to further destinations.
Throughout all the years since I first encountered John Bayley's writing I was continually impressed with his superb writing ability; it was something that he had shared with his partner, yet unlike Iris he remained primarily a critic of fiction and literature. He made an impact on my reading life that I will not forget just as he became a light for readers everywhere with both his writing style and love of literature.
Throughout all the years since I first encountered John Bayley's writing I was continually impressed with his superb writing ability; it was something that he had shared with his partner, yet unlike Iris he remained primarily a critic of fiction and literature. He made an impact on my reading life that I will not forget just as he became a light for readers everywhere with both his writing style and love of literature.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews