John Preston (born 1953) is an English journalist and novelist.

Career

John Preston attended Marlborough College in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

from 1967 to 1971. He worked as the Arts Editor of ''

The Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after bei ...

'' and ''

The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...

''. He was ''The Sunday Telegraph''s television critic for ten years and one of its chief feature writers. Preston wrote four novels between 1996 and 2007. All are set in England in the recent past: ''Ghosting'' in the world of radio and television in the 1950s; ''Ink'' in the dying days of Fleet Street's importance in journalism in the 1980s; ''Kings of the Roundhouse'' in strife-torn London in the 1970s; and '' The Dig'' in the 1930s. Preston wrote ''The Dig'', a novelised account of the Sutton Hoo archaeological dig, after discovering that his aunt had been one of the key participants. ''The Dig'' has been made into a feature film starring

Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ( ; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal Shak ...

Carey Mulligan Carey Hannah Mulligan (born 28 May 1985) is an English actress. She has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award. Mulli ...

, and

Lily James Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson (born 5 April 1989), better known by her stage name Lily James, is an English actress. She studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and began her career in the British television series ''Ju ...

, released on Netflix in 2021. ''

A Very English Scandal ''A Very English Scandal'' is a true crime non-fiction novel by John Preston. It was first published on 5 May 2016 by Viking Press and by Other Press in the United States. The novel details the 1970s Thorpe affair in Britain, in which former L ...

'', Preston's non-fiction account of the Jeremy Thorpe affair of the 1970s, was adapted into a

television miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. " Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

starring

Hugh Grant Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as both a charming, and vulnerable romantic lead and has since transitioned into a dramatic character actor. Among his numerous a ...

and

Ben Whishaw Benjamin John Whishaw (born 14 October 1980) is an English actor and producer. After winning a British Independent Film Award for his performance in ''My Brother Tom'' (2001), he was nominated for an Olivier Award for his portrayal of the titl ...

in 2018. His 2020 non-fiction book, ''Fall: The Mystery of

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, member of parliament (MP), suspected spy, and fraudster. Early in his life, Maxwell escaped from ...

'', won the Costa Book Award for biographies in 2021, and is being adapted for television by

Working Title A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...

. In 2022, Preston authored the script for '' Stonehouse'', a television series biography of disgraced politician

John Stonehouse John Thomson Stonehouse (28 July 192514 April 1988) was a British Labour and Co-operative Party politician and cabinet minister under Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Stonehouse is remembered for his unsuccessful attempt at faking his own death i ...

Critical assessments

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

'' reviewer of ''Ink'' said, "With a rare gift for both humour and desolation, Preston is a brilliant new player in the field of serious comedy." Reviewing ''Kings of the Roundhouse'' in ''

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 ...

'', Harry Ritchie called it "that unusual thing – an intelligent comic novel that really is very funny". The

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

politician

Chris Mullin Christopher Paul Mullin (born July 30, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player, executive and coach. He is a two-time Olympic Gold medalist and a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee (in 2010 as a memb ...

said ''A Very English Scandal'' was "probably the most forensic, elegantly written and compelling account of one of the 20th century's great political scandals ... a real page-turner" and an "entertaining mix of tragedy and farce".

Family

Preston lives in London. He is married to journalist and bridge columnist

Susanna Gross Susanna Gross has been literary editor of ''The Mail on Sunday'' since 1999 and bridge columnist for ''The Spectator'' since 2000. She has played bridge in many national and international competitions and represented England in home internationa ...

and his brother-in law is political commentator

Tom Gross Tom Gross is a British-born journalist, international affairs commentator, and human rights campaigner specializing in the Middle East. Gross was formerly a foreign correspondent for the London ''Sunday Telegraph'' and ''New York Daily News''. He ...

. He has two children.

Books

* ''Touching the Moon'' (1991; non-fiction, about a trip to the Mountains of the Moon in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

) * ''Ghosting'' (1996; novel) * ''Ink'' (1999; novel) * ''Kings of the Roundhouse'' (2006; novel) * '' The Dig'' (2007; novel) * '' A Very English Scandal: Sex, Lies and a Murder Plot at the Heart of the Establishment'' (2016; non-fiction, on the Jeremy Thorpe affair) * ''Fall: The Mystery of

'' (2020; non-fiction)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, John 1953 births Living people 20th-century British novelists 21st-century British novelists People educated at Marlborough College British non-fiction writers British male novelists British male journalists