Dan Jacobson was born in South Africa to Lithuanian Jewish parents. He worked as a schoolteacher in London, as a journalist in South Africa, and also spent some time on a kibbutz in Israel.
He moved to England in 1955 where for many years he pursued a career as a freelance writer of fiction and essays. He then entered academic life and eventually became professor of English Literature at University College, London. He also held visiting professorships and fellowships at universities in the United States and Australia. Upon retiring from University College he resumed working as a full-time writer.
His writing is strikingly varied in nature and set in many countries D amongst them being South Africa, England, ancient Palestine, and the Republic of Sarmeda - a country of his own invention. His later works, such as 'The Rape of Tamar', take biblical and historical themes.
Dan Jacobson's novels, many short stories, essays, and critical and autobiographical works have been awarded several prestigious literary prizes.
