Arthur Bamber Gascoigne (24 January 1935 – 8 February 2022) was an English television presenter and author. He was the original quizmaster on ''
University Challenge
''University Challenge'' is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. ''University Challenge'' aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC ...
'', which initially ran from 1962 to 1987.
Early life and education
Gascoigne was born in London on 24 January 1935.
He was the elder son of Lieutenant-Colonel Derek Ernest Frederick Orby Gascoigne by his marriage in 1934 to Mary ("Midi")
Louisa Hermione O'Neill.
Gascoigne was educated at
Sunningdale School
Sunningdale School is a family-run boys' preparatory independent boarding school of around 100 pupils, situated in Sunningdale in Berkshire, close to London, England.
Introduction
Sunningdale School is a small school that seeks to educate its ...
in Berkshire before winning scholarships to both
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
and
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...
(1955), where he read
English literature
English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...
.
He initially wanted to become an actor, though found it tiresome to have to play the same part for more than a week, so instead turned to writing. While at Magdalene, he initially submitted scripts to the Footlights sketch troupe, though they were never performed. However, he wrote a college review in his second year, which was seen by the producer
Michael Codron
Sir Michael Victor Codron (born 8 June 1930) is a British theatre producer, known for his productions of the early work of Harold Pinter, Christopher Hampton, David Hare, Simon Gray and Tom Stoppard. He has been honoured with a Laurence Olivier ...
. He liked it enough to put it on in the West End as a musical called ''Share My Lettuce,'' in 1957.
It was performed by
Maggie Smith
Dame Margaret Natalie Smith (born 28 December 1934) is an English actress. With an extensive career on screen and stage beginning in the mid-1950s, Smith has appeared in more than sixty films and seventy plays. She is one of the few performer ...
and
Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was an English actor of Welsh heritage. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 Car ...
(with music by Keith Statham and
Patrick Gowers
William Patrick Gowers (5 May 1936 – 30 December 2014) was an English composer, mainly known for his film scores.
Early life and education
Born in Islington, Gowers was the son of Stella Gowers (née Pelly) and Richard Gowers, a solicitor. Hi ...
).
He then spent a year as a Commonwealth Fund
The Commonwealth Fund is a private U.S. foundation whose stated purpose is to "promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable, includ ...
scholar at Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
(1958–59). He carried out his National Service
National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939.
The l ...
in the Grenadier Guards
"Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it."
, colors =
, colors_label =
, march = Slow: " Scipio"
, mascot =
, equipment =
, equipment ...
, where he spent six months guarding the Queen at Buckingham Palace, before being posted to Germany. After completing his National Service, he became employed as a theatre critic, firstly for ''The Spectator'', and then ''The Observer''. He met his wife, Christina, at Cambridge, and they married in 1965.
Ancestry
Gascoigne's family were originally Norman, arriving in the early 13th century. Gascoigne's mother was a daughter of Captain, the Hon. Arthur O'Neill
Arthur Edward Bruce O'Neill (19 September 1876 – 6 November 1914), was an Irish Ulster Unionist Party politician who was the first Member of Parliament to be killed in World War I.
Early life
O'Neill was the second but eldest surviving son of ...
and Lady Annabel Hungerford Crewe-Milnes.
His father was the son of Brigadier-General Sir Ernest Frederick Orby Gascoigne and Laura Cicely, daughter of General Edward Henry Clive, of that family of Styche Hall, Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
, from which also came the soldier and administrator of India Robert Clive
Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for laying the foundation of the British ...
(Clive of India).[ Vol. 1, p. 362 & Vol. 3, p. 3205.]
Gascoigne's great-grandfathers included Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe
Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe, (12 January 185820 June 1945), known as The Honourable Robert Milnes from 1863 to 1885, The Lord Houghton from 1885 to 1895 and as The Earl of Crewe from 1895 to 1911, was a British L ...
, and Edward O'Neill, 2nd Baron O'Neill
Edward O'Neill, 2nd Baron O'Neill (31 December 1839 – 19 November 1928), known as Edward Chichester until 1855, was an Irish peer and Conservative politician.
O'Neill was the eldest son of William O'Neill, 1st Baron O'Neill, and his first wife ...
. He was a nephew of Sir Julian Gascoigne
Major-General Sir Julian Alvery Gascoigne, (25 October 1903 – 26 February 1990) was a senior British Army officer who served in the Second World War and became Major-General commanding the Household Brigade and General Officer Commanding Lon ...
, who was in charge of the Household Division
Household Division is a term used principally in the Commonwealth of Nations to describe a country's most elite or historically senior military units, or those military units that provide ceremonial or protective functions associated directly with ...
during the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive ...
, and of Terence O'Neill
Terence Marne O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of the Maine, PC (NI) (10 September 1914 – 12 June 1990), was the fourth prime minister of Northern Ireland and leader (1963–1969) of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). A moderate unionist, who sought to ...
, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (1963–1969).
Gascoigne was a direct descendant of the 18th-century Lord Mayor of London
The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...
Sir Crisp Gascoyne
Sir Crisp Gascoyne (1700 – 28 December 1761) was an English businessman who became Lord Mayor of London.
Early life
The youngest son of Benjamin and Anne Gascoyne was born at Chiswick, and baptised in its parish church on 26 August 1700. H ...
and the Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
politicians Bamber Gascoyne (the elder) and Isaac Gascoyne
Isaac Gascoyne (21 August 1763 – 26 August 1841) was a British Army officer and Tory politician. He was born at Barking, London Essex on 21 August 1763, the third son of Bamber Gascoyne (senior) and Mary Green and was educated at Felsted Sc ...
. Isaac's son General Ernest Frederick Gascoyne, of Raby Hall, Liverpool (1796–1867), was his great-great-great-grandfather. The name Bamber was the surname of the Lord Mayor's wife, and was given to their son.
''University Challenge''
Gascoigne was the original presenter (from 1962) of the television quiz show ''University Challenge
''University Challenge'' is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. ''University Challenge'' aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC ...
'', based on the US series ''College Bowl
''College Bowl'' (which has carried a naming rights sponsor, initially General Electric and later Capital One) is a radio, television, and student quiz show. ''College Bowl'' first aired on the NBC Radio Network in 1953 as ''College Quiz Bowl'' ...
''. He held the position for 25 years, until the end of the initial run in 1987. As well as presenting the show, in its initial series he also set all the questions. His questioning manner was regarded as firm yet polite. Phrases he often used which became catchphrase
A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
s include: "Your starter for ten, no conferring", "fingers on buzzers” and "I'll have to hurry you." The show was initially only set for 13 episodes, but it was such a hit that Gascoigne eventually presented 913 episodes. A number of contestants later became notable in their respective careers, including Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...
and Miriam Margolyes
Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus.
The Tora ...
. When the show was revived in 1994 with Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Dickson Paxman (born 11 May 1950) is an English broadcaster, journalist, author, and television presenter. Born in Leeds, Paxman was educated at Malvern College and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he edited the undergraduate ne ...
, he declined to apply to present it again, as he was already involved with other projects.
In 1984 Gascoigne was parodied by Griff Rhys Jones
Griffith Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, and television presenter. He starred in a number of television series with his comedy partner, Mel Smith. Rhys Jones came to national attention in the 1980s for h ...
in the alternative comedy series '' The Young Ones'', in an episode entitled "Bambi
''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten. ...
".[ ]Ade Edmondson
Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter. He was part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s and had roles in the television series '' The Young Ones'' (1 ...
, a regular cast member of ''The Young Ones'', later appeared on the real ''University Challenge''. In 1998, Gascoigne presented a parody named ''Universe Challenge'' based on the sci-fi comedy series ''Red Dwarf
''Red Dwarf'' is a British science fiction comedy franchise created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, which primarily consists of a television sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999, and on Dave since 2009, gaining a cult following. T ...
''.
Gascoigne was also portrayed in the 2006 comedy-drama film, '' Starter for 10'' directed by Tom Vaughan, by the actor Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss (; born 17 October 1966) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. His work includes writing for and acting in the television series ''Doctor Who'', '' Sherlock'', and '' Dracula''. Together with ...
.
Television and books
Gascoigne was the author of ''Murgatreud's Empire'', a 1972 satirical novel concerning an entrepreneur who finds an island of pygmies
In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a pop ...
, and trades them arms for treasure, recreating the development of European medieval weaponry and armour. This was originally written as a script, although the play was abandoned because of the impossibility to find suitable performers for a cast of forty pygmies.
In 1977, Gascoigne wrote and presented ''The Christians'', a 13-hour television documentary series on the history of Christianity
The history of Christianity concerns the Christian religion, Christian countries, and the Christians with their various denominations, from the 1st century to the present. Christianity originated with the ministry of Jesus, a Jewish teach ...
, produced by Granada Television
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...
and broadcast on ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
. The same year he wrote a companion book, under the same title, with photography by his wife, Christina Gascoigne, published by Jonathan Cape
Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960.
Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...
. In 2003 it was revised and republished as ''A Brief History of Christianity'' by Robinson Publishing
Constable & Robinson Ltd. is an imprint of Little, Brown which publishes fiction and non-fiction books and ebooks.
Founded in Edinburgh in 1795 by Archibald Constable as Constable & Co., and by Nick Robinson as Robinson Publishing Ltd in 1983, ...
.
Gascoigne wrote ''Quest for the Golden Hare'', a 1983 account of the internationally publicised treasure hunt associated with the publication in 1979 of Kit Williams
Christopher "Kit" Williams (born 28 April 1946) is an English artist, illustrator and author best known for his 1979 book '' Masquerade'', a pictorial storybook which contains clues to the location of a golden (18 carat) jewelled hare created ...
' book ''Masquerade
Masquerade or Masquerader may refer to:
Events
* Masquerade ball, a costumed dance event
* Masquerade ceremony, a rite or cultural event in many parts of the world, especially the Caribbean and Africa
* Masqueraders, the performers in the West ...
''. On 8 August 1979, Gascoigne was witness to the burial by Williams of a unique jewelled, solid gold hare pendant
A pendant is a loose-hanging piece of jewellery, generally attached by a small loop to a necklace, which may be known as a "pendant necklace". A pendant earring is an earring with a piece hanging down. Its name stems from the Latin word ...
in an earthenware jar "somewhere in Britain". The book documents the search and a scandal associated with finding it.[
In 1987, Gascoigne presented a documentary series of six 30-minute programmes on ]Victorian history
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian era, Georgian period and preceded ...
, ''Victorian Values'', produced by Granada Television. The programmes looked at how Victorian society put in place the infrastructure of the modern welfare state.
In 1988, Gascoigne devised and presented a BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
arts quiz called ''Connoisseur'', for which he also set the questions.
Gascoigne was the writer and presenter for the TV series '' The Great Moghuls'' (1990), a study of the Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
of India. The series was based on Gascoigne's 1971 book of the same name, which features photographs by his wife.
Other activities
Gascoigne established an online history encyclopaedia, ''HistoryWorld
''HistoryWorld'' is an interactive online history encyclopaedia that seeks to make world history more easily accessible through interactive narratives and timelines. It was established by Bamber Gascoigne who has been developing it since 1994. ...
'', based on British history. He had already published a hard copy of this encyclopaedia, though saw the internet as an opportunity to reach millions more than the book alone. He also established ''TimeSearch,'' which presents multiple searchable timelines collected from various websites.
Gascoigne was a lifelong supporter of the Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
and subsequently the Liberal Democrats. He publicly endorsed the latter during their 2019 general election campaign. In August 2014, Gascoigne was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' opposing Scottish independence
Scottish independence ( gd, Neo-eisimeileachd na h-Alba; sco, Scots unthirldom) is the idea of Scotland as a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom, and refers to the political movement that is campaigning to bring it about.
S ...
in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.
On the death of his great-aunt , in 2014, Gascoigne inherited an estate at West Horsley
West Horsley is a semi-rural village between Guildford and Leatherhead in Surrey, England. It lies on the A246, and south of the M25 and the A3. Its civil parish ascends to an ancient woodland Sheepleas Woods which are on the northern downsl ...
, Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, including West Horsley Place
West Horsley Place is a Grade I listed building in West Horsley, to the east of Guildford in Surrey. There are eight further Grade II buildings on the estate, including two mid-19th-century dog kennels.
History
The house dates back to the 15 ...
, a large country house
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
dating from the 16th century. Gascoigne sold some of the late Duchess's possessions using the proceeds to restore the house, which was followed by the building of an opera house in its grounds, the Theatre in the Woods, which serves as the home base of the Grange Park Opera
Grange Park Opera is a professional opera company and charity whose base is West Horsley Place in Surrey, England. Founded in 1998, the company staged an annual opera festival at The Grange, in Hampshire and in 2016–7, built a new opera hous ...
. An original pencil and chalk study for the painting ''Flaming June
''Flaming June'' is a painting by Sir Frederic Leighton, produced in 1895. Painted with oil paints on a square canvas, it is widely considered to be Leighton's magnum opus, showing his classicist nature. It is thought that the woman portrayed ...
'' by Sir Frederic Leighton
Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton, (3 December 1830 – 25 January 1896), known as Sir Frederic Leighton between 1878 and 1896, was a British painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. His works depicted historical, biblical, and classical subjec ...
was found on the back of a bedroom door in the house. Art historians had known a sketch existed as it had been included in an art magazine in 1895, but did not know who owned it; it was probably bought by the Duchess's paternal grandfather after Leighton's death. Since 2019, West Horsley Place has been used as the filming location for the fictional Button House in the BBC TV comedy series ''Ghosts''.
External interests
Gascoigne was elected in 1976 as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...
. He was a trustee of the National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
, a trustee of the Tate Gallery
Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
, a member of the council of the National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
, and a member of the board of directors of the Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...
, Covent Garden. He was also a patron of the Museum of Richmond
The Museum of Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is located in Richmond's Old Town Hall, close to Richmond Bridge. It was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 28 October 1988.
An independent museum and a register ...
.
Personal life, honours and death
Gascoigne was married, for 57 years, to Christina (''née'' Ditchburn), daughter of civil servant Alfred Henry Ditchburn, . He met Christina at Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
. They lived in Richmond, London
Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Commiss ...
, from the late 1960s. She is an artist working in ceramics, silks and other media. The couple did not have any children. Gascoigne was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(CBE) in the 2018 Birthday Honours
The 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...
for services to the Arts.
In January 2022, Gascoigne was hospitalised for three weeks with pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
. Following his hospitalisation, Gascoigne's health drastically declined. He died at his home in Richmond on 8 February 2022, at the age of 87. Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...
led the tributes to Gascoigne, saying he was "such an elegant, intelligent man". Victoria Coren Mitchell
Victoria Elizabeth Coren Mitchell (' Coren; born ) is a British writer, TV presenter and professional poker player. Coren Mitchell writes weekly columns for ''The Telegraph'' and has hosted the BBC television quiz show '' Only Connect'' since 2 ...
, host of BBC quiz show ''Only Connect
''Only Connect'' is a British television quiz show presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell. In the series, teams compete in a tournament of finding connections between seemingly unrelated clues. The title is taken from a passage in E. M. Fo ...
'', said: "No quiz host has ever seemed more like they could answer all the questions themselves."[
]
Selected publications
* 1962: ''Twentieth Century Drama'', London: Hutchinson University Library
* 1968: '' Leda Had a Little Swan'' (play, cancelled on the day before opening, in New York, after fourteen previews)
* 1968: ''World Theatre: An Illustrated History'', Ebury Press
Ebury Publishing is a division of Penguin Random House, and is a publisher of general non-fiction books in the UK. Ebury was founded in 1961 as a division of Nat Mags and was originally located on Ebury Street in London. It was sold to Century ...
* 1971: ''The Great Moghuls'' (with photographs by Christina Gascoigne), London: Jonathan Cape
Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960.
Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...
; New York: Harper & Row
Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City.
History
J. & J. Harper (1817–1833)
James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...
* 1973: ''The Treasures and Dynasties of China'' (with photographs by Christina Gascoigne and Derrick Witty), Jonathan Cape. Republished 2003 as ''A Brief History of the Dynasties of China''
* 1973: ''The Heyday'', Jonathan Cape (novel)
* 1974: ''Ticker Khan: A Fable'', Jonathan Cape
*1975: ''Castles of Great Britain'' (introduction; with Christina Gascoigne), Thames and Hudson,
* 1977: ''The Christians'' (with photographs by Christina Gascoigne), London: Jonathan Cape; New York: William Morrow & Co. Revised and republished 2003 as ''A Brief History of Christianity'', Robinson Publishing
Constable & Robinson Ltd. is an imprint of Little, Brown which publishes fiction and non-fiction books and ebooks.
Founded in Edinburgh in 1795 by Archibald Constable as Constable & Co., and by Nick Robinson as Robinson Publishing Ltd in 1983, ...
* 1981: ''Why the Rope Went Tight'' (children's stories, with pictures by Christina Gascoigne), London: Methuen; New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
* 1982: ''Fearless Freddy's Sunken Treasure'' (children's stories, with pictures by Christina Gascoigne), London: Methuen
* 1982: ''Fearless Freddy's Magic Wish'' (children's stories, with pictures by Christina Gascoigne), London: Methuen
* 1983: ''Quest for the Golden Hare'', Jonathan Cape
* 1986: ''Cod Streuth'', Jonathan Cape
* 1986: ''How to Identify Prints: A Complete Guide to Manual and Mechanical Processes from Woodcut to Inkjet'', Thames & Hudson
Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...
; revised 2nd edition 2004
* 1988: (with J Wright): ''Bamber Gascoigne's Book of Amazing Facts'', London: Walker Books
Walker Books is a British publisher of children's books, founded in 1978 by Sebastian Walker, Amelia Edwards, and Wendy Boase.
In 1991, the success of Walker Books' ''Where's Wally?'' series enabled the company to expand into the American ma ...
;
* 1993: ''Encyclopaedia of Britain: The A–Z of Britain's Past and Present'', Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...
* 1997: ''Milestones in Colour Printing 1457–1859: With a Bibliography of Nelson Prints'' (The Sandars Lectures in Bibliography), Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press
A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
* 1998: ''A Brief History of the Great Moghuls: India's Most Flamboyant Rulers'' evised edition of ''The Great Moghuls'' (1971) Running Press
Running Press is an American publishing company and member of the Perseus Books Group. The publisher's offices are located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with many of the corporate functions taking place in Perseus' New York City headquarters. I ...
* 2007: ''Bamber Gascoigne's Challenging Quiz Book'', London: Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.[HistoryWorld
''HistoryWorld'' is an interactive online history encyclopaedia that seeks to make world history more easily accessible through interactive narratives and timelines. It was established by Bamber Gascoigne who has been developing it since 1994. ...]
''
* 2011: ''A Brief History of the First World War'', ''HistoryWorld'' ,
* 2011: ''The Maya, Aztecs, Incas and Conquistadors: A Brief History'', ''HistoryWorld''
* 2014: ''The Dynasties of China: A History'', The Folio Society
The Folio Society is a London-based publisher, founded by Charles Ede in 1947 and incorporated in 1971. Formerly privately owned, it operates as an employee ownership trust since 2021.
It produces illustrated hardback editions of classic fict ...
References
External links
''HistoryWorld'' website
Timesearch website
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gascoigne, Bamber
1935 births
2022 deaths
20th-century British Army personnel
20th-century English writers
21st-century English writers
Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge
British theatre critics
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
English art historians
English game show hosts
English male non-fiction writers
English musical theatre lyricists
English television presenters
Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature
People educated at Eton College
People educated at Sunningdale School
People from Richmond, London
Television personalities from London
University Challenge
Writers from London
British unionists
Liberal Democrats (UK) people