Born in Uckfield, Sussex, he attended Stowe School and went on to read Moral Sciences and English at King's College, Cambridge.
On completion of his studies, he worked in numerous academic posts under the auspices of the British Council.
In the 1950s, in the British Council School of São Paulo, Brazil, he ran a memorable course on The War Poets (WWI), introducing Stephen Spender and his contemporaries.
The book received considerable critical acclaim and was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.
Tuohy died in Shepton Mallet, Somerset in 1999 at a time when he was working on the uncompleted manuscript for a new novel following many years of writer's block.