Andrew Hussey OBE (born 1963) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

historian of French culture and biographer. He has published multiple books, focusing primarily on 20th century French history and

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

Early life

Born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, Hussey was educated at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

and the

Jean Moulin University Lyon 3 The Jean Moulin University Lyon 3 (french: link=no, Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3), also referred to as Lyon 3, is one of the three public universities of Lyon, France. It is named after the French Resistance fighter Jean Moulin and specialises ...

. He received his PhD for a thesis on Georges Bataille, eventually published as his first book.

Career

His biography of Guy Debord was named by

Julian Barnes Julian Patrick Barnes (born 19 January 1946) is an English writer. He won the Man Booker Prize in 2011 with '' The Sense of an Ending'', having been shortlisted three times previously with '' Flaubert's Parrot'', ''England, England'', and '' A ...

as International Book of the Year in the ''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to '' The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'' in 2001. Hussey lectured in French at the

University of Huddersfield , mottoeng = Thus not for you alone , established = 1825 – Huddersfield Science and Mechanics' Institute1992 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £2.47 million (2015) , chancellor = George W. Buckley , vice_chancell ...

in the 1990s. He was a senior lecturer in French at the

University of Wales Aberystwyth , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

and since 2006 he has been the dean of the University of London Institute in Paris. In 2014 he was appointed Director of the Centre for Post-Colonial Studies at the University of London's

School of Advanced Study The School of Advanced Study (SAS), a postgraduate institution of the University of London, is the UK's national centre for the promotion and facilitation of research in the humanities and social sciences. It was established in 1994 and is ba ...

. He began his career as a journalist writing for

Julie Burchill Julie Burchill (born 3 July 1959) is an English writer. Beginning as a staff writer at the ''New Musical Express'' at the age of 17, she has since contributed to newspapers such as ''The Daily Telegraph'', ''The Sunday Times'' and ''The Guardia ...

's '' Modern Review'' in the early 1990s. He now regularly contributes to ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'', ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British Political magazine, political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney Webb, Sidney and Beatrice ...

'', ''

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and ma ...

'' and ''

Literary Review ''Literary Review'' is a British literary magazine founded in 1979 by Anne Smith, then head of the Department of English at the University of Edinburgh. Its offices are on Lexington Street in Soho. The magazine was edited for fourteen years by v ...

''. In 2007, Hussey provided the foreword to ''How to Enjoy Paris in 1842'', written by Francis Hervé. He is well known for his book ''Paris: The Secret History'', described by

Peter Ackroyd Peter Ackroyd (born 5 October 1949) is an English biographer, novelist and critic with a specialist interest in the history and culture of London. For his novels about English history and culture and his biographies of, among others, William ...

in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' as "endlessly informative, with a story on every page". It was well reviewed in the United Kingdom, the United States and in France, where it was shortlisted for the Prix Grandgousier. It has been translated into ten languages. In 2021, Hussey's book ''The Strange and Enchanted Life of Isidore Isou'', about the Letterist artist

Isidore Isou Isidore Isou (; 29 January 1925 – 28 July 2007), born Isidor Goldstein, was a Romanian-born French poet, dramaturge, novelist, film director, economist, and visual artist who lived in the 20th century. He was the founder of Lettrism, an art ...

, was published by

Reaktion Books Reaktion Books is an independent book publisher based in Islington, London, England. It was founded in 1985 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and moved to London in 1987. Reaktion originally focused on the fields of art, architecture, and design. In rece ...

Media appearances

Hussey also presents television documentaries, amongst which is ''France on a Plate'', first broadcast in December 2009. In this programme, he discusses the culinary history of France in relation to its political and social history.

Honours

He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to UK–France cultural relations.

Bibliography

* * ''The Game of War: The Life and Death of Guy Debord'', 2001 * ''The Beast at Heaven’s Gate: Georges Bataille and the Art of Transgression'', 2006 * ''Paris: The Secret History'' (''L'histoire cachée de Paris''), 2006 * ''The French Intifada : The Long War Between France and its Arabs'' (''Insurrections en France: Du Maghreb colonial aux émeutes de banlieues, histoire d'une longue guerre''), 2014, traduit sous le titre * *''The Strange and Enchanted Life of Isidore Isou'', 2021

TV works

*''France on a Plate'' BBC Four (2010) *''The North on a Plate'' BBC Four (2011) *''Treasures of the Louvre'' BBC Four (2013)

Radio

*''

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

- Inside the Outsider'', BBC Radio 3, (2013). * (about

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

:) ''Paris–Zurich–Trieste: Joyce l’European'', BBC Radio 4, (2022).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hussey, Andrew 1963 births English historians English biographers Cultural historians Academics of the University of London Institute in Paris Academics of the University of Huddersfield Academics of Aberystwyth University Living people Officers of the Order of the British Empire Academics from Liverpool Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester University of Lyon alumni New Statesman people