[1][2] He wrote a history of Spanish literature in the age of the Enlightenment and his analytical approach to Goya combined the artist's work with an understanding of its historical context.

[2] King Juan Carlos of Spain made him a Commander of the Order of Isabel La Católica in 1988, and the University of Salamanca awarded him the Elio Antonio de Nebrija prize in 2007.

[3] Oliver Nigel Valentine Glendinning was born in East Sheen on 16 October 1929 into a musical and artistic family.

[1] After school he joined the Royal Army Educational Corps as part of his War Service and later read French and Spanish at King's College, Cambridge.

[3] After Oxford he held a Chair at the University of Southampton and subsequent professorships at Trinity College, Dublin, and Queen Mary's, London, the latter of which he was made Professor Emeritus in 1991.