author
John Charles Tarver
1854–1926
A late-Victorian and early-20th-century writer who moved easily between literary criticism, education, and Roman history, he wrote on subjects as varied as Gustave Flaubert, foster parenting, and the emperor Tiberius. His work suggests a curious, wide-ranging mind drawn both to ideas and to character.
1 Audiobook
Tiberius the Tyrant
by John Charles Tarver
About the author
Educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge, John Charles Tarver belonged to the generation of English writers whose interests ranged widely across literature, history, and public questions. Records for his books show an author active from the 1890s into the early 1900s, publishing works in several different fields rather than confining himself to a single specialty.
His books include Some Observations of a Foster Parent (1897), Gustave Flaubert as Seen in His Works and Correspondence, Muggleton College; Its Rise and Fall, and Tiberius the Tyrant (1902). Taken together, they show a writer interested in both private life and large historical subjects, with a particular taste for close reading, moral debate, and the lives of complicated figures.
Although detailed biographical information about him is limited in the sources readily available online, his surviving bibliography gives a clear sense of his range: part critic, part essayist, part historian. That breadth makes him an appealing figure for readers who enjoy older nonfiction shaped by strong opinions, lively curiosity, and an independent cast of mind.