Iain Bertram Hamilton (3 February 1920 – 15 July 1986) was a Scottish journalist, author and poet.
[ ]
Hamilton was educated at
Paisley Grammar School
Paisley Grammar School is a secondary school in Paisley, the largest town in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The school was founded in 1576 by royal charter of King James VI and is situated on Glasgow Road. The school is recognised as one of Scotland' ...
, and initially worked as a reporter on the ''
Daily Record'' in Glasgow before heading south to London to work as on the staff of ''
The Guardian''.
From 1952, he was associated with the weekly journal ''
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...
'', and after several promotions through the ranks he was appointed Editor in 1962, staying in that position for a year. He was Editorial Director of the
Hutchinson group of publishing companies from 1958 to 1962, and after leaving ''The Spectator'' became managing director of Kern House Enterprises (1970–5).
In addition, he wrote a good many articles for the ''
Illustrated London News'' and the high-brow current affairs magazine ''
Encounter''.
The best known of Hamilton's literary works is his biography of
Arthur Koestler
Arthur Koestler, (, ; ; hu, Kösztler Artúr; 5 September 1905 – 1 March 1983) was a Hungarian-born author and journalist. Koestler was born in Budapest and, apart from his early school years, was educated in Austria. In 1931, Koestler join ...
, published by
Secker & Warburg, London, in 1982 (a year before Koestler's death). His other books were:
*''Spectrum: A Spectator Miscellany'' (1956), ed. with
Ian Gilmour
Ian Hedworth John Little Gilmour, Baron Gilmour of Craigmillar, (8 July 1926 – 21 September 2007) was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was styled Sir Ian Gilmour, 3rd Baronet from 1977, having succeeded to his fat ...
*''Scotland the Brave'' (1957)
*''Half a Highlander: An Autobiography of a Scottish Youth'' (1958)
*''The Foster Gang'' (1966), with H. J. May
*''Embarkation for Cythera'' (1974)
*''The Kerry Kyle'' (1980)
He also wrote a play early in his career, ''The Snarling Beggar'' (1951).
Reviews
* Ross, Robert (1982), review of ''Koestler'', in Hearn, Sheila G. (ed.), ''
Cencrastus
''Cencrastus'' was a magazine devoted to Scottish and international literature, arts and affairs, founded after the Referendum of 1979 by students, mainly of Scottish literature at Edinburgh University, and with support from Cairns Craig, then a ...
'' No. 10, Autumn 1982, p. 48,
References
External links
*
1920 births
1986 deaths
British writers
The Spectator editors
{{UK-journalist-stub