Jonathan Smith (born 1942) is an English novelist, playwright, writer and teacher. A career English teacher, best known for his novels, he has also written many radio plays.

Early life and education

Smith was born in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

to a family of teachers originally from the

Rhondda Valley Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ...

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

. He was educated at Christ College, Brecon and read English at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

Teaching and writing career

Smith took up his first teaching job at

Loretto School Loretto School, founded in 1827, is an independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 0 to 18. The campus occupies in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland. History The school was founded by the Reverend Thomas Langhorne in 1827. L ...

near

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in Scotland. After a brief stint at

Melbourne Grammar School (Pray and Work) , established = 1849 (on present site since 1858 - the celebrated date of foundation) , type = Independent, co-educational primary, single-sex boys secondary, day and boarding , denominatio ...

in Australia, he taught at

Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...

for the rest of his career and was head of English for 17 years. He published five novels during his teaching career before retiring in 2002 to concentrate on writing. His former pupils at Tonbridge include Sir Anthony Seldon, novelist

Vikram Seth Vikram Seth (born 20 June 1952) is an Indian novelist and poet. He has written several novels and poetry books. He has won several awards such as Padma Shri, Sahitya Academy Award, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, WH Smith Literary Award and Crosswor ...

, poet Christopher Reid, actor

Dan Stevens Daniel Jonathan Stevens (born 10 October 1982) is a British actor and writer. He first drew international attention for his role as Matthew Crawley in the ITV acclaimed period drama series ''Downton Abbey'' (2010–2012). He also starred as D ...

and musician

Kit Hesketh-Harvey Kit may refer to: Places * Kitt, Indiana, US, formerly Kit * Kit, Iran, a village in Mazandaran Province * Kit Hill, Cornwall, England People * Kit (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Kit (surname) Animals * Young animals ...

. A number of his works have been adapted for television and film. His first novel ''Wilfred and Eileen'' was adapted for into a four-part serial which aired in 1981 on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

. His first radio play ''The World Walk'' was adapted for television and aired on

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 ...

. His 1995 novel '' Summer in February'' was adapted into a full-length film. The novel ''The Churchill Secret KBO,'' was adapted for a feature-length movie starring

Michael Gambon Sir Michael John Gambon (; born 19 October 1940) is an Irish-English actor. Regarded as one of Ireland and Britain's most distinguished actors, he is known for his work on stage and screen. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivi ...

, screened in 2016 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 ...

under the title ''

Churchill's Secret ''Churchill's Secret'' is a British drama television film first broadcast on ITV1 on 28 February 2016. The screenplay was written by Stewart Harcourt based on the book ''The Churchill Secret: KBO'' by Jonathan Smith. It stars Michael Gambon as ...

''. His two radio plays on

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

were broadcast on Radio 4 in 2017.

Personal life

Smith and his wife Gillian have a daughter, Becky, an educational consultant, and a son, Ed, who is the former England National Cricket Selector, a former England

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er and published author. In 2006, shortly after being diagnosed with cancer, he and his son went on a trip to India. It was the inspiration for his book ''The Following Game'', published in 2011.

Bibliography

Novels

*''Wilfred and Eileen'' (1976) *''The English Lover'' (1977) *''In Flight'' (1980) *''Come Back'' (1985) *''Summer in February''.

Abacus The abacus (''plural'' abaci or abacuses), also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool which has been used since ancient times. It was used in the ancient Near East, Europe, China, and Russia, centuries before the adoption of the Hin ...

(1996). *''Night Windows''. Abacus (2004). *''The Churchill Secret KBO''. Abacus (2015).

Autobiographical

*''The Learning Game: A Teacher's Inspirational Story''. Abacus (2002). *''The Following Game''. Peridot Press (2011).

Radio dramas

Over twenty plays including:
Abandoned
about

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

and

Camille Claudel Camille Rosalie Claudel (; 8 December 1864 19 October 1943) was a French sculptor known for her figurative works in bronze and marble. She died in relative obscurity, but later gained recognition for the originality and quality of her work. The ...

(

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

)
The Trenches Trip
(

)
The Tennis Court
(Radio 4)
Portrait of Winston
(Radio 4) *Mr Betjeman's Class (Radio 4) *Mr Betjeman Regrets (Radio 4)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jonathan 1942 births Living people Schoolteachers from Gloucestershire English people of Welsh descent Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge People educated at Christ College, Brecon British non-fiction writers 20th-century British novelists 21st-century British novelists British male novelists 20th-century British male writers 21st-century British male writers Male non-fiction writers