John Malcolm Andrews (born 21 August 1936) is an English author on

antiques An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

, journalist and

crime writer True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...

, engineering businessman and author – as John Malcolm – of the Tim Simpson series of art crime novels, author as John Andrews of the first ''Price Guide to Antique Furniture'' (1968) and Managing Editor of ''Antique Collecting'' magazine.Andrews' Editorials for ''Antique Collecting'' magazine
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Biography

Born in

Chorlton-cum-Hardy Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a suburban area of Manchester, England, southwest of the Manchester city centre, city centre. Chorlton (ward), Chorlton ward had a population of 14,138 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census, and Chorlton Park (w ...

, Manchester, the son of May (née Whiteley) and Ernest Andrews, an engineer, John Andrews was educated at

Sale High School Sale High School (formerly known as Jeff Joseph Sale Moor Technology College and Sale Secondary School) is a secondary school in Sale Moor, Greater Manchester, England. Its current headteacher is Adam Rogers and the Deputy Headteacher is Kathr ...

in Manchester and

The British Schools of Montevideo The British Schools of Montevideo is a private, coeducational, non-profit school, which aims to give an intensive bilingual education, combining the Uruguayan national curriculum with an English language program. Educational programs and govern ...

(1946–1950), before returning to England as a boarder at

Bedford Modern School Bedford Modern School (often called BMS) is a Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference independent school in Bedford, England. The school has its origins in Bedford Charity, The Harpur Trust, born from the financial endowment, endowments le ...

(1950–1955), and at

St. John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

, where he read Engineering and was Captain of the Lady Margaret Boat Club. He graduated MA in 1958. Andrews worked as design engineer (1958–63), an export sales manager (1963–70), management consultant (1970–76), and international marketing manager (1976–90) before setting up his own business as a machinery broker in 1990, travelling abroad extensively. In 1966 he was a founder member of the Antique Collectors' Club and became its first author as John Andrews with ''The Price Guide to Antique Furniture'' (1968). He went on to write more books on antique furniture and is currently Managing Editor of ''Antique Collecting'' magazine. He was Chairman of the Trustees of Rye Art Gallery from 1995 to 2004. In 1984 his first crime novel, ''A Back Room in Somers Town'', written as John Malcolm, was published by

Collins Crime Club Collins Crime Club was an imprint of British book publishers William Collins, Sons and ran from 6 May 1930 to April 1994. Throughout its 64 years the club issued a total of 2,012in "The Hooded Gunman -- An Illustrated History of Collins Crime ...

. He went on to write a total of fifteen of the Tim Simpson series of crime novels plus two more with different central characters. He was Chairman of the Crime Writers' Association from 1994–5 and wrote a number of short stories. The art background to many of the Tim Simpson series involves the work of modern painters such as

Walter Sickert Walter Richard Sickert (31 May 1860 – 22 January 1942) was a German-born British painter and printmaker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London. He was an important influence on d ...

, Mary Godwin, Sir

William Orpen Major Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen, (27 November 1878 – 29 September 1931) was an Irish artist who worked mainly in London. Orpen was a fine draughtsman and a popular, commercially successful painter of portraits for the well-to-do in ...

, Gwen and

Augustus John Augustus Edwin John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sarg ...

, Sir William Nicholson and

Ben Nicholson Benjamin Lauder Nicholson, Order of Merit, OM (10 April 1894 – 6 February 1982) was an English painter of abstract art, abstract compositions (sometimes in low relief), landscape and still-life. Background and training Nicholson was ...

, Sir

Alfred Munnings Sir Alfred James Munnings, (8 October 1878 – 17 July 1959) was known as one of England's finest painters of horses, and as an outspoken critic of Modernism. Engaged by Lord Beaverbrook's Canadian War Memorials Fund, he earned several prest ...

James Tissot Jacques Joseph Tissot (; 15 October 1836 – 8 August 1902), anglicized as James Tissot (), was a French painter and illustrator. He was a successful painter of fashionable, modern scenes and society life in Paris before moving to London in 1871 ...

Wyndham Lewis Percy Wyndham Lewis (18 November 1882 – 7 March 1957) was a British writer, painter and critic. He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art and edited ''BLAST,'' the literary magazine of the Vorticists. His novels include ''Tarr'' ( ...

C.R.W. Nevinson Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson (13 August 1889 – 7 October 1946) was an English figure and landscape painter, etcher and lithographer, who was one of the most famous war artists of World War I. He is often referred to by his initial ...

, the

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...

Camille Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( , ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but t ...

, Whistler,

Winslow Homer Winslow Homer (February 24, 1836 – September 29, 1910) was an American landscape painter and illustrator, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th-century America and a preeminent figure in ...

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...

and

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...

. Andrews is a member of the

Crime Writers Association The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors’ organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its Dagger awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. T ...

and the

Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. , it represents over 12,000 members and as ...

. He married Geraldine Lacey (a picture restorer) on 25 March 1961. The couple live in

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

and have one son.

Bibliography

Novels as John Malcolm

The Tim Simpson series: *''A Back Room in Somers Town'' (1984) *''The Godwin Sideboard'' (1984) *''The Gwen John Sculpture'' (1985) *''Whistler in the Dark'' (1986) *''Gothic Pursuit'' (1987) *''Mortal Ruin'', (1988) *''The Wrong Impression'' (1990) *''Sheep, Goats and Soap'' (1991) *''A Deceptive Appearance'' (1992) *''The Burning Ground'' (1993) *''Hung Over'' (1994) *''Into the Vortex'' (1996) *''Simpson's Homer'' (2001) *''Circles and Squares'' (2002) *''Rogues' Gallery'' (2005)

Crime Novels

*''Mortal Instruments'' (2003) *''The Chippendale Factor'' (2008)

Non-fiction as John Andrews

*''The Price Guide to Antique Furniture'' (1968) (revised 1978) *''The Price Guide to Victorian Furniture'' (1970) *''The Price Guide to Victorian, Edwardian and 1920s Furniture'' (1980) *''British Antique Furniture'' (1989), (new editions: 2001; 2005/6; 2011) *''Victorian and Edwardian Furniture'' (1992), (new edition: 2001) *''Antique Furniture: The ACC Guide to the Antique Furniture of the Western World'' (1997) *''Arts and Crafts Furniture'', (2005), (new edition: 2013)

Notes

References

*The Crime Writers' Association *T J Binyon Murder Will Out *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrews, John 1936 births Living people People educated at Bedford Modern School 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English novelists Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge English crime fiction writers English non-fiction writers English male novelists 20th-century English male writers 21st-century English male writers English male non-fiction writers People educated at The British Schools of Montevideo