--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Biography is the medium through which the…" description: "\"Biography is the medium through which the remaining secrets of the famous dead are taken from them and dumped out in full view of the world. The biogra..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c44/janet-malcolm-10933_biographers_biography-is-the-medium-through-which-th_3067631.jpg" --- # Biography is the medium through which the remaining… ![“Biography is the medium through which the remaining secrets of the famous dead are taken from them and dumped out in full view of the world. The biographer at work, indeed, is like the professional burglar, breaking into a house, rifling through certain drawers that he has good reason to think…” quote by Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c44/janet-malcolm-10933_biographers_biography-is-the-medium-through-which-th_3067631.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c44/janet-malcolm-10933_biographers_biography-is-the-medium-through-which-th_3067631.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c44/janet-malcolm-10933_biographers_biography-is-the-medium-through-which-th_3067631.jpg) > “Biography is the medium through which the remaining secrets of the famous dead are taken from them and dumped out in full view of the world. The biographer at work, indeed, is like the professional burglar, breaking into a house, rifling through certain drawers that he has good reason to think contain the jewelry and money, and triumphantly bearing his loot away.” [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Biography is like burglary: uncovering hidden secrets and presenting them publicly. **In simple terms:** Biography uncovers secrets. Key Takeaway Approach biography as investigative work. Themes privacy truth ethics exposure Mood critical analytical Type journalistic philosophical When to use this quote - historical research - media analysis - ethical debates - public interest Key Concepts journalistic inquiry biographical narrative Questions to Reflect On - Is it ethical to expose private details? - How to balance truth and respect? A Different Perspective Invasion of privacy raises moral concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I am well aware that the path of the biographer is beset with pitfalls, and that, for him, suppressio veri is almost necessarily suggestio…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dodgson-collingwood/i-am-well-aware-that-the-path-of-the-biographer-is-beset-with/) Stuart Dodgson Collingwood > [The biographer who writes the life of his subjects self-concept passes through a fade into the inner house of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-edel/the-biographer-who-writes-the-life-of-his-subjects-self-concept/) [Leon Edel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-edel/) > [Eleanor Marx was her father's first biographer. All subsequent biographies of Karl Marx, and most of Engels, draw on her work as their primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-holmes/eleanor-marx-was-her-father-s-first-biographer-all-subsequent/) [Rachel Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-holmes/) > [biography is essentially a collaborative art, the latest biographer collaborating with all those who wrote earlier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/biography-is-essentially-a-collaborative-art-the-latest-biographer/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [My life and work have been far from free of blemish, and so I think it would be unpardonable for a biographer not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-styron/my-life-and-work-have-been-far-from-free-of-blemish-and-so-i-think-it/) [William Styron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-styron/) > [Every business should have its biographer-not after its head is dead but to show that he's very much alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-pierson/every-business-should-have-its-biographer-not-after-its-head-is-dead/) [Frank Pierson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-pierson/) > [As it often happens that the best men are but little known, and consequently cannot extend the usefulness of their examples a great way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/as-it-often-happens-that-the-best-men-are-but-little-known-and/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [while it is certainly the biographer's business to describe the foibles, passions and idiosyncrasies which make his subject a person, his work will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/while-it-is-certainly-the-biographer-s-business-to-describe-the/) [Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-origo/) > [In Milly Barranger, Margaret Webster has found the perfect biographer. In Margaret Webster, Milly Barranger has found her perfect subject. She brings to vivid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-seldes/in-milly-barranger-margaret-webster-has-found-the-perfect-biographer/) [Marian Seldes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-seldes/) > [The facts of life are to the biographer what the text of a novel is to the critic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-glendinning/the-facts-of-life-are-to-the-biographer-what-the-text-of-a-novel-is/) [Victoria Glendinning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-glendinning/) > [His Cheek is his Biographer- As long as he can blush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/his-cheek-is-his-biographer-as-long-as-he-can-blush/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“For the biographer, the final clue to character lies in the yet unread - the scribbled note, the diary page, a notation in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-furman/for-the-biographer-the-final-clue-to-character-lies-in-the-yet-unread/) [Laura Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-furman/) > [Ronald Reagan's biographer wrote of the former president's final days: "for all the intimate familiarity of that face and body, I did not feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-morris/ronald-reagan-s-biographer-wrote-of-the-former-president-s-final-days/) Edwin Morris > [biography cannot be separated from autobiography: that is, the life written about is inextricably entangled with the life of the biographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-simon/biography-cannot-be-separated-from-autobiography-that-is-the-life/) Linda Simon > [The biographer's real business - if it is not too arrogant to say so - is simply this: to bring the dead to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-origo/the-biographer-s-real-business-if-it-is-not-too-arrogant-to-say-so-is/) [Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-origo/) ## More by Janet Malcolm > [The camera is simply not the supple and powerful instrument of description that the pen is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/the-camera-is-simply-not-the-supple-and-powerful-instrument-of/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [“The writer ultimately tires of the subject's self-serving story, and substitutes a story of his own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/the-writer-ultimately-tires-of-the-subject-s-self-serving-story-and/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [Society mediates between the extremes of, on the one hand, intolerably strict morality and, on the other, dangerously anarchic permissiveness through an unspoken agreement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/society-mediates-between-the-extremes-of-on-the-one-hand-intolerably/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [Something seems to happen to people when they meet a journalist, and what happens is exactly the opposite of what one would expect. One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/something-seems-to-happen-to-people-when-they-meet-a-journalist-and/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [The ‘I’ character in journalism is almost pure invention. Unlike the ‘I’ of autobiography, who is meant to be seen as a representation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/the-i-character-in-journalism-is-almost-pure-invention-unlike-the-i/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [I don't want to manipulate actuality; I want to record it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/i-don-t-want-to-manipulate-actuality-i-want-to-record-it/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [The journalistic 'I' is an overreliable narrator, a functionary to whom crucial tasks of narration and argument and tone have been entrusted, an ad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/the-journalistic-i-is-an-overreliable-narrator-a-functionary-to-whom/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [“The subject of a piece of writing has not suffered the tension and anxiety endured by the subject of the "Eichmann experiment" (as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/the-subject-of-a-piece-of-writing-has-not-suffered-the-tension-and/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [People talk in ungrammatical, unwriterly ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/people-talk-in-ungrammatical-unwriterly-ways/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [This is what it is the business of the artist to do. Art is theft, art is armed robbery, art is not pleasing your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/this-is-what-it-is-the-business-of-the-artist-to-do-art-is-theft-art/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [The journalist confines himself to the clean, gentlemanly work of exposing the griefs and shames of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/the-journalist-confines-himself-to-the-clean-gentlemanly-work-of/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [The dominant and most deep-dyed trait of the journalist is his timorousness. Where the novelist fearlessly plunges into the water of self-exposure, the journalist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/the-dominant-and-most-deep-dyed-trait-of-the-journalist-is-his/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [If I write a page a day, I feel very good about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/if-i-write-a-page-a-day-i-feel-very-good-about-it/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [“Something seems to happen to people when they meet a journalist, and what happens is exactly the opposite of what one would expect. One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/something-seems-to-happen-to-people-when-they-meet-a-journalist-and-2/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [You could say that any book that takes a position is not fair, unless you keep saying, 'On the one hand, on the other...'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/you-could-say-that-any-book-that-takes-a-position-is-not-fair-unless/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) [Explore all 62 Janet Malcolm quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) ## More Biographers quotes > [I am well aware that the path of the biographer is beset with pitfalls, and that, for him, suppressio veri is almost necessarily suggestio…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dodgson-collingwood/i-am-well-aware-that-the-path-of-the-biographer-is-beset-with/) Stuart Dodgson Collingwood > [biography cannot be separated from autobiography: that is, the life written about is inextricably entangled with the life of the biographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-simon/biography-cannot-be-separated-from-autobiography-that-is-the-life/) Linda Simon > [Biographers know nothing about the intimate sex lives of their own wives, but they think they know all about Stendhal's or Faulkner's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/biographers-know-nothing-about-the-intimate-sex-lives-of-their-own/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Ronald Reagan's biographer wrote of the former president's final days: "for all the intimate familiarity of that face and body, I did not feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-morris/ronald-reagan-s-biographer-wrote-of-the-former-president-s-final-days/) Edwin Morris > [“For the biographer, the final clue to character lies in the yet unread - the scribbled note, the diary page, a notation in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-furman/for-the-biographer-the-final-clue-to-character-lies-in-the-yet-unread/) [Laura Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-furman/) > [Among the sayings and discourses imputed to him (i.e. Jesus) by his biographers, I find many passages of fine imagination, correct morality, and of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/among-the-sayings-and-discourses-imputed-to-him-i-e-jesus-by-his/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Biographers, the quick in pursuit of the dead, research, organize, fill in, contradict, and make in this way a sort of completed picture puzzle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/biographers-the-quick-in-pursuit-of-the-dead-research-organize-fill/) [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) > [The authorized biographers - the ones hand-picked to write the sanitized version of a subject's life - sit up front with the swells while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-kelley/the-authorized-biographers-the-ones-hand-picked-to-write-the/) [Kitty Kelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-kelley/) > ["I want to be always happy," Maxine Hong Kingston announces . But, as this interview makes clear, for me, it was the desire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/i-want-to-be-always-happy-maxine-hong-kingston-announces-but-as-this/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [ If we believe that he \[Jesus Christ\]really countenanced the follies, the falsehoods, and the charlatanisms, which his biographers \[writers of the New Testament\]father upon… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/if-we-believe-that-he-jesus-christ-really-countenanced-the-follies/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [His Cheek is his Biographer- As long as he can blush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/his-cheek-is-his-biographer-as-long-as-he-can-blush/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Authorised royal biographers are so straitjacketed, deferential, fawning, and unadventurous that they can only be after a knighthood. Or they're completely scurrilous and insolent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-morgan/authorised-royal-biographers-are-so-straitjacketed-deferential/) [Peter Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-morgan/) > [Boswell is the first of biographers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/boswell-is-the-first-of-biographers/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let us have our heroes. Let us continue to believe that some have been truly great; that it lies within human ability to overcome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-baines-johnson/let-us-have-our-heroes-let-us-continue-to-believe-that-some-have-been/) [Lyndon Baines Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-baines-johnson/) > [“Biographers are not usually as explicit as philosophers such as Plato, Wittgenstein, Austin, or Moore on questions of the existence of an essential self,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermione-lee/biographers-are-not-usually-as-explicit-as-philosophers-such-as-plato/) [Hermione Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermione-lee/) Browse all 74 Biographers quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Biography is the medium through which the remaining secrets of the famous dead are taken from them and dumped out in full view of the world. 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