My husband, Warren Chernaik, who has died aged 92, was emeritus professor of English at the University of London, where he inspired generations of students with his passion for literature and his conviction that the independence of writers as truth-tellers must be protected from political repression.
His books included major studies of John Milton, raging against the “blind mouths” of his own time (Milton and the Burden of Freedom, 2017), Milton’s friend Andrew Marvell (The Poet’s Time, 1983), Shakespeare’s history plays (The Cambridge Introduction to Shakespeare’s History Plays, 2007) and Sexual Freedom in Restoration Literature (1995), an academic bestseller.
Concerned about the isolation of postgraduates working at separate colleges of the University of London, in 1991 Warren founded the Centre for English Studies (later the Institute of English Studies), where students and guest lecturers could exchange ideas about work and life. He was equally concerned about the working conditions of staff, and was an active member of the AUT trade union (later the UCU) for close to 50 years.
Born in New York City, to Joseph Chernaik, a chemist, and his wife, Ruth (nee Parker), a champion golfer, Warren attended local schools, earning a Regents scholarship to Cornell University. He and I met on a street corner in Manhattan, introduced by mutual friends who thought we would both enjoy Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, for which Warren had acquired two tickets.
We were married in the summer of 1956, and became fellow graduate students at Yale University in the English department, which was then famous for “New Criticism”, the close reading of literary texts. Sceptical of critical dogma, Warren believed strongly in the relevance of literature to the writer’s society, its history and politics.
Years of teaching at Yale, Ohio State, City College (CUNY) and Boston University were followed by a year abroad at Bangor University, and finally, in 1972, a move to London. The following year, Warren took up a position at Queen Mary College, where he taught American drama as well as 17th-century English poetry, urging students to think for themselves, rather than following critical fashions. His inaugural lecture as professor of English, “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love”: Popular Song and American Culture, 1920-1960, typically reflected his wide interests.
Warren lectured on American literature in Vienna and Istanbul, and was a genial presence at conferences of the Milton Society, British Milton Seminars and the Shakespeare Trust. He reviewed productions at Shakespeare’s Globe for various publications, and wrote entries on literary and political figures for the Dictionary of National Biography. Students and colleagues testified to his unfailing kindness and generosity, his enthusiasm, his intellectual curiosity and his love of informed debate.
He loved music, classical and popular. He was a dedicated member of the North Camden Chorus, his fine baritone voice often contributing Gershwin solos to choir parties and concerts.
He is survived by me, our children Laura, David and Sara, and five grandchildren.
