Tim Villiers Heald

FRSL The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

(28 January 1944 – 20 November 2016) was a British author, biographer, journalist and public speaker.

Life and writings

Heald was born in

Dorchester, Dorset Dorchester ( ) is the county town of Dorset, England. It is situated between Poole and Bridport on the A35 trunk route. A historic market town, Dorchester is on the banks of the River Frome to the south of the Dorset Downs and north of the ...

, England, and educated at

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governors , ...

, Dorset, and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

, gaining an MA in Modern History in 1965. He wrote over 30 published books, including official biographies of HRH

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

(''The Duke – a Portrait of Prince Philip'', 1991), Hodder & Stoughton), HRH The

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

(''Princess Margaret – a Life Unravelled'' (2007), Orion Books) and cricket commentator Brian Johnston. Heald was also known for his mystery novels featuring Simon Bognor, special investigator, (10 titles), serialised by

Thames TV Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broad ...

, and more recently as creator of Dr Tudor Cornwall in a new crime trilogy published by

Robert Hale Ltd Robert Hale Limited was a London publisher of fiction and non-fiction books, founded in 1936, and also known as Robert Hale. It was based at Clerkenwell House, Clerkenwell Green. It ceased trading on 1 December 2015 and its imprints were sold to ...

: ''Death and the Visiting Fellow'' (2004), ''Death and the D'Urbervilles'' (2005), ''A Death on the Ocean Wave'' (2007). He subsequently returned to the newly knighted Simon Bognor and published two further novels ''Death in the Opening Chapter'' and ''Poison at the Pueblo'' with Crème de la Crime/ Severn House. As a journalist, Tim Heald wrote for ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'', ''

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 ''The ...

'', ''

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, whi ...

'' (Atticus column), ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' (feature writer 1967–1972), ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' and ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', and was a freelance book reviewer and feature and travel writer for various other publications. As a speaker, he was often a guest on

Cunard Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Berm ...

cruise ships the '' QE2'' and the

Caronia Caronia ( Sicilian: ''Carunìa'', Greek: ( Ptol.) or ( Diod. et al.), Latin: ''Calacte'' or ''Cale Acte'') is a town and '' comune'' on the north coast of Sicily, in the province of Messina, about half way between Tyndaris (modern Tindari) ...

. He was the author of ''Village Cricket'' (Little Brown, 2004), on which a

Carlton TV Carlton Television (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties from 9.25am every Monday to 5.15pm every Friday. The company is now managed with London Weekend Televi ...

series was based. Heald worked as an academic in creative writing at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

and the

University of South Australia The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

between 1997 and 2001. He was a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

. He was also a strong member of PEN International and chaired the Writers in Prison Committee. Tim Heald lived in

Fowey Fowey ( ; kw, Fowydh, meaning 'Beech Trees') is a port town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town has been in existence since well before the Norman invasion, with the local ch ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, for 15 years until 2011 but then moved to south Somerset, where his mother was born and where she and his father are buried.

Illness and death

Suffering from Parkinsonism and Lewy body dementia, Tim Heald died in Martock, Somerset 20 November 2016.

Bibliography

* ''Unbecoming Habits'' * ''Blue Blood Will Out'' * ''Deadline'' * ''Let Sleeping Dogs Die'' * ''Just Desserts'' * ''Murder at Moose Jaw'' * ''Caroline R'' – novel chronicling a life similar to that of

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

from her marriage to Prince Charles until her death in 1997 * ''Masterstroke'' * ''Class Distinctions'' * ''Red Herrings'' * ''Brought to Book'' * ''The Rigby File'' (editor) * ''Business Unusual'' * ''A Classic English Crime'' (editor) * ''It's a Dog's Life'' * ''The Making of

Space 1999 ''Space: 1999'' is a British science-fiction television programme that ran for two series from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, set in the year 1999, nuclear waste stored on the Moon's far side explodes, knocking the Moon out of orbit an ...

'' * ''

John Steed Major The Hon. John Wickham Gascoyne Beresford Steed usually known as John Steed, is a fictional character and the central protagonist on the 1960s British spy series '' The Avengers'' and its 1970s sequel '' The New Avengers'', played by Patr ...

, the Authorised Biography Vol 1'' * ''HRH: The Man Who Will Be King'' (co-author with

Mayo Mohs Mayo A. Mohs (March 23, 1934 – August 22, 1996) was the editor of the 1971 science fiction anthology ''Other Worlds, Other Gods: Adventures in Religious Science Fiction'' (Doubleday & Company, 1971, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 76 ...

) * ''Networks'' * ''The Character of Cricket'' * ''The Newest London Spy'' (editor) * ''By Appointment – 150 Years of the Royal Warrant and Its Holders'' * ''My Lord's'' * ''The Duke – Portrait of

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

'' * ''Honourable Estates - The English and their Country Houses'' * ''A Life of Love – The Life of

Barbara Cartland Dame Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland, (9 July 1901 – 21 May 2000) published as Barbara Cartland was an English writer, known as the Queen of Romance, who published both contemporary romance, contemporary and historical romance novels, the lat ...

'' * ''Denis – The Authorised Biography of the Incomparable

Compton Compton may refer to: Places Canada * Compton (electoral district), a former Quebec federal electoral district * Compton (provincial electoral district), a former Quebec provincial electoral district now part of Mégantic-Compton * Compton, Que ...

'' * ''

Brian Johnston Brian Alexander Johnston (24 June 1912 – 5 January 1994), nicknamed Johnners, was a British cricket commentator, author, and television presenter. He was most prominently associated with the BBC during a career which lasted from 1946 until h ...

– The Authorised Biography'' * ''Beating Retreat – Hong Kong Under the Last Governor'' Most of the bibliographical detail taken from a copy ''Beating Retreat – Hong Kong Under the Last Governor'' (published by

Sinclair Stevenson Sinclair-Stevenson Ltd is a British publisher founded in 1989 by Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson. Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson became an editor at Hamish Hamilton in 1961. Thirteen years later in 1974 he became managing director, establishing ...

in 1997) *''Death and the Visiting Fellow'' *''Death and the D'Urbervilles'' *''A Death on the Ocean Wave'' *''Tomfoolery''; edited work of Tom Baun compiled with his brother, Christopher *''Jardine's Last Tour'' *''My Dear Hugh – the collected letters of

Richard Cobb Richard Charles Cobb (20 May 1917 – 15 January 1996) was a British historian and essayist, and professor at the University of Oxford. He was the author of numerous influential works about the history of France, particularly the French R ...

'' *''Death in the Opening Chapter'' *''Poison at the Pueblo''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heald, Tim 1944 births 2016 deaths Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford English biographers English male journalists 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English novelists Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature People educated at Sherborne School People from Dorchester, Dorset People from Fowey English male novelists Cricket historians and writers 20th-century English male writers 21st-century English male writers Male biographers