John Pearson (author)
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John George Pearson (5 October 1930 – 13 November 2021) was an English novelist and an author of biographies, notably of Ian Fleming (the creator of
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
), of the Sitwells, and of the Kray twins.


Life and career

Pearson was born in
Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...
, Surrey. He was educated at
King's College School, Wimbledon King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London a ...
, and Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he gained a
double first The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...
in history. He then worked for ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...
'',
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
Television and ''
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 ...
''. He was Ian Fleming's assistant at the ''Sunday Times'' and went on to write the first biography of Fleming, '' The Life of Ian Fleming'', published in 1966. Pearson was commissioned by
Donald Campbell Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...
to chronicle his successful attempt on the
Land Speed Record The land speed record (or absolute land speed record) is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C ("Special Vehicles") flying start regula ...
in 1964 in
Bluebird CN7 The Bluebird-Proteus CN7 is a gas turbine-powered vehicle that was driven by Donald Campbell and achieved the world land speed record on Lake Eyre in Australia on 17 July 1964. The vehicle set the FIA world record for the flying mile at . Des ...
, resulting in the book ''Bluebird and the Dead Lake''. Pearson had also written "true crime" biographies, such as ''The Profession of Violence'', an account of the rise and fall of the Kray twins, who had hired him to write their biography in 1967. Over the next several years the brothers, who by now were in jail, wrote frequently to Pearson. He wrote two further books about the Krays: ''The Cult of Violence: The Untold Story of the Krays'' and ''Notorious: The Immortal Legend of the Kray Twins''. In 2010 Pearson put up for auction more than 160 previously unseen letters and photographs from the Kray twins. The items sold for £20,780. Another of Pearson's books, ''The Gamblers'', is an account of the group of gamblers who made up what was known as the
Clermont Set The Clermont Set was an exclusive group of rich British gamblers who met at the Clermont Club, originally at 44 Berkeley Square, in London's fashionable Mayfair district. It closed in March 2018 and re-opened in 2022. Clermont Club is now temporar ...
, including John Aspinall,
James Goldsmith Sir James Michael Goldsmith (26 February 1933 – 18 July 1997) was a French-British financier, tycoon''Billionaire: The Life and Times of Sir James Goldsmith'' by Ivan Fallon and politician who was a member of the Goldsmith family. His cont ...
and
Lord Lucan Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan (born 18 December 1934 – disappeared 8 November 1974, declared death in absentia, declared dead 3 February 2016), commonly known as Lord Lucan, was a British Peerages in the United Kingdom, peer who di ...
.
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
purchased the film rights to the book in 2006. ''The Gamblers'' was made into a two-part TV drama, '' Lucan'', starring
Rory Kinnear Rory Michael Kinnear (born 17 February 1978) is an English actor and playwright who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. In 2014, he won the Olivier Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of William Sha ...
and Christopher Eccleston, broadcast on
ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...
in December 2013. Pearson's book ''Facades'' was the first full-scale biography of the Sitwell siblings
Edith Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and var ...
,
Osbert Osbert is a male given name and a surname. It may refer to: Osbert , a novel by R.A. Currier Given name *Osbert or Osberht of Northumbria (died 867), King of Northumbria *Osbert or Osbeorn Bulax (died c. 1054), son of Siward, Earl of Northumbr ...
and Sacheverell. It was published in 1978. Pearson had also written five novels. Storm Jameson praised his
first novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...
, ''Gone to Timbuctoo'', as "an unusually good first novel, an exciting story, and a splendid setting in French West Africa. The writing is sharp and witty."''The Publisher'', Volume 176.
Malcolm Muggeridge Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge (24 March 1903 – 14 November 1990) was an English journalist and satirist. His father, H. T. Muggeridge, was a socialist politician and one of the early Labour Party Members of Parliament (for Romford, in Essex). In ...
said, "This is an exceptionally brilliant first novel - exciting, wryly funny and perceptive." For his next three novels, Pearson did tie-in fictional biographies. Pearson also became the third official author of the ''James Bond'' series, writing in
1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...
'' James Bond: The Authorized Biography of 007'', a first-person biography of the fictional agent James Bond. However, Pearson declined an offer to write further Bond novels. Pearson then did fictional tie-in works about Upstairs, Downstairs (''The Bellamys of Eaton Place'') and
Biggles James Bigglesworth, nicknamed "Biggles", is a fictional pilot and adventurer, the title character and hero of the ''Biggles'' series of adventure books, written for young readers by W. E. Johns (1893–1968). Biggles made his first appearance ...
. Pearson had three children from his first marriage. In 1980, he married his second wife, Lynette, daughter of Ian Hope Dundas of Dundas, 30th Chief of
Clan Dundas Clan Dundas is a Scottish clan.Way, George and Squire, Romily. ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). Published in 1994. Pages 124 - 12 ...
, and former wife of Timothy Cecil Frankland, grandson of
Sir Frederick Frankland, 10th Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
by his wife Mary (née Curzon), Baroness Zouche, of the family of the Viscounts Curzon. Pearson died on 13 November 2021, at the age of 91.


Bibliography


Novels

*''Gone To Timbuctoo'' (1962) - winner of the Authors' Club First Novel Award *'' James Bond: The Authorized Biography of 007'' (1973) *''The Bellamys of Eaton Place'' (1976) - published in the U.S. as ''The Bellamy Saga'' *''Biggles: The Authorised Biography'' (1978) *''The Kindness of Dr Avicenna'' (1982)


Non-fiction

;Biographies: * ''Bluebird and the Dead Lake'' (1965) (published in the U.S. as ''The Last Hero: The Gallant Story of Donald Campbell and the Land Speed Record'' in 1966) * '' The Life of Ian Fleming'' (1966) * ''The Kray Twins'' series: *# ''The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins'' (1972) - nominated for an
Edgar Allan Poe Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...
*# ''The Cult of Violence: The Untold Story of the Krays'' (2001) *# ''Notorious: The Immortal Legend of the Kray Twins'' (2010) * ''Facades: Edith, Osbert and Sacheverell Sitwell'' (1978) (published in the U.S. as ''The Sitwells'' in 1979) * ''Barbara Cartland: Crusader in Pink'' (1979), first published as by "Henry Cloud" but subsequently republished under his own name * ''Stags and Serpents: The Story of the House of Cavendish and the Dukes of Devonshire'' (1983) (published in the U.S. as ''The Serpent and the Stag'' in 1984) * ''The Ultimate Family: The Making of the Royal House of Windsor'' (1986) (published in the U.S. as ''The Selling of the Royal Family: The Mystique of the British Monarchy'') * ''Citadel of the Heart: Winston and the Churchill Dynasty'' (1991) (published in the U.S. as ''The Private Lives of Winston Churchill'') * ''Painfully Rich: the Outrageous Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty'' (1995) * ''Blood Royal: The Story of the Spencers and the Royals'' (1999) * ''One of the Family: The Englishman and the Mafia'' (2003) * ''The Gamblers: John Aspinall, James Goldsmith and the Murder of Lord Lucan'' (2005) * ''Ian Fleming: The Notes'' (2020) ;History: * ''Airline Detective: The Fight Against International Air Crime'' (1962) co-written with BOAC Security expert Donald E. W. Fish although Pearson is uncreditedIan Fleming The Bibliography, p.514 * ''Arena: The Story of the Colosseum'' (1973) * ''Edward the Rake'' (1975) (published in the U.S. as ''Edward the Rake: An Unwholesome Biography of Edward VII'') ;Politics: * ''The Persuasion Industry'' (1965), with Graham Turner


Adaptations

* ''
Goldeneye ''GoldenEye'' is a 1995 spy film, the seventeenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Martin Campbell, it was the first in the se ...
'' (1989), telefilm directed by
Don Boyd Donald William Robertson Boyd (born 11 August 1948 in Nairn, Scotland) is a Scottish film director, producer, screenwriter and novelist. He was a Governor of the London Film School until 2016 and in 2017 was made an Honorary Professor in the Col ...
, based on non-fiction book '' The Life of Ian Fleming'' * '' Lucan'' (2013), mini-series directed by
Adrian Shergold Adrian Shergold (born 24 March 1948 in Croydon, Surrey) is a British film and television director. Selected filmography *'' Danielle Cable: Eyewitness'' (2003) *'' Dirty Filthy Love'' (2004) *''Ahead of the Class'' (2005) *'' Pierrepoint'' (2005) ...
, based on non-fiction book ''The Gamblers: John Aspinall, James Goldsmith and the Murder of Lord Lucan'' * ''
Legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...
'' (2015), film directed by
Brian Helgeland Brian Thomas Helgeland (born January 17, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film producer and director. He is most known for writing the screenplays for the films ''L.A. Confidential'' and ''Mystic River''. He also wrote and directed the films ...
, based on non-fiction book ''The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins'' * ''
All the Money in the World ''All the Money in the World'' is a 2017 biographical crime thriller film directed by Ridley Scott and written by David Scarpa. Based on John Pearson's 1995 book ''Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Pau ...
'' (2017), film directed by Ridley Scott, based on non-fiction book ''Painfully Rich: the Outrageous Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty''


References


External links


Mystery File article about Pearson
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, John 1930 births 2021 deaths 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English novelists People from Epsom Fellows of Peterhouse, Cambridge English male novelists 20th-century English male writers 21st-century English male writers