Watson, Kathy

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WATSON, Kathy

PERSONAL: Born in England; married; children: two. Education: University of Oxford, received degree.

ADDRESSES: Home—North London, England. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Jeremy P. Tarcher Publicity, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England.

CAREER: Journalist. Has worked variously for British Broadcasting Corp. and several national women's magazines.

WRITINGS:

The Crossing: The Glorious Tragedy of the First Man to Swim the English Channel, Jeremy P. Tarcher (New York, NY), 2001.

The Devil Kissed Her: The Story of Mary Lamb, Jeremy P. Tarcher (New York, NY), 2004.

Also contributor to various periodicals.

SIDELIGHTS: Author and journalist Kathy Watson's first book, The Crossing: The Glorious Tragedy of the First Man to Swim the English Channel, is a biography about swimmer Matthew Webb, the twenty-seven year old who in August of 1875 was the first person to successfully make the swim from Dover, England, to Calais, France. Watson chronicles both the swim and its aftermath, describing how Webb, a ship's captain, failed to realize the effect his newfound fame would have on his life. Although Webb simply wanted a job and a normal existence, the public pressured him into becoming a marathon swimmer and eventually into performing additional, death-defying swimming feats. Webb was killed in 1883 while attempting to swim through the rapids at Niagara Falls. A contributor for Publishers Weekly remarked that "Watson carefully recounts the increasingly exploitative Victorian popular culture in which Webb's popularity yielded to new fads." Watson's own experiences as a Channel swimmer give her additional insight into how Webb might have felt and reacted to his own achievement. David Pitt, reviewing for Booklist, called the book a "sensitively written account," as well as "a warning about the double-edged sword of celebrity."

The Devil Kissed Her: The Story of Mary Lamb is a biography of a well-known English literary figure. With her brother Charles, Lamb contributed to children's literature, most notably with Tales from Shakespeare. Lamb also suffered from periodic bouts of mental illness that ultimately made her responsible for the death of her mother, a crime for which she was not arrested but released from a brief stay in an asylum into her brother's care. Watson tracks Lamb's life from childhood, examining her writing and her friendships with such notable literary figures as William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. She also relates the darker aspects of Lamb's life and recounts how the murder of her mother affected Lamb in the years to follow.

Shahbano Bilgrami, in a review of The Devil Kissed Her for LauraHird.com, called the book "an extremely readable biography because Watson has taken care to include a considerable amount of background material on the social conditions of the time." In a review for the London Telegraph online, Freya Johnson remarked that "Watson is excellent at pointing out Mary Lamb's strengths as an author," but went on to note that the book "is less satisfying when it comes to the treatment of mental disorders." A contributor for Kirkus Reviews stated that the book is "a welcome reevaluation of an underappreciated author," and Isabel Coates, in a review for Library Journal, remarked that "Watson writes with great sympathy about the relationship between these two siblings."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Biography, fall, 2001, Charles Sprawson, review of The Crossing: The Glorious Tragedy of the First Man to Swim the English Channel, p. 1009.

Booklist, July, 2001, David Pitt, review of The Crossing, p. 1969.

Entertainment Weekly, September 24, 2004, Whitney Pastorek, "Mamas, Don't Let Your Daughters Grow Up to Write Kid Lit," review of The Devil Kissed Her: The Story of Mary Lamb, p. 114.

Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2004, review of The Devil Kissed Her, p. 680.

Library Journal, August, 2001, Kathleen Shanahan, review of The Crossing, p. 124; September 1, 2004, Isabel Coates, review of The Devil Kissed Her, p. 163.

New Statesman, August 16, 2004, Christie Hickman, "A Family Affair," review of The Devil Kissed Her, p. 38.

Publishers Weekly, July 16, 2001, review of The Crossing, p. 172.

Sentinel (Orlando, FL), October 5, 2001, Henry Wessel, review of The Crossing.