It was mentioned in this thread earlier as something we shouldn't do, and I'm countering that, because I personally think it's very germane to the writing of a biography. If I read a biography which did not mention at all a subject's marriage, children, parents, I would think it was quite sub-standard.

People do not spontaneously appear fully formed and they don't die that way either. That way of writing is 19th century.

In a message dated 2/22/2009 5:13:03 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, andrew.gray@dunelm.org.uk writes:

(Why are we having this discussion for the thousandth time, anyway? It's not desperately germane to the issue of how to define stubs...)

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