William Hugh Charles Watson was a Scottish author, playwright and newspaper editor. He was initially Literary and then Features editor of the

Scotsman The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded ...

newspaper. Born in Edinburgh on 30 April 1931, he attended

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, is now part of the Senior School. The Junior School is located on Arboretum Ro ...

and then entered Edinburgh and Oxford universities but did not complete either course. He commenced writing novels in 1969 with ''Better than One'' and then wrote two historical novels. The first, titled ''Beltran in Exile'' (1979) was about the Knights Templar after the end of the Crusades in Palestine. ''The Knight on the Bridge'' (1982) is about the

Cathars Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. F ...

. These two latter books are generally regarded as his best works. Between 1970 and 1972 he wrote three plays; ''Footstool for God'', set in

Rosslyn Chapel Rosslyn Chapel, formerly known as the Collegiate Chapel of St Matthew, is a 15th-century chapel located in the village of Roslin, Midlothian, Scotland. Rosslyn Chapel was founded on a small hill above Roslin Glen as a Catholic collegiate church ...

, ''The Larch'' and ''Dodwell's Last Trump''. He also co-wrote ''

Sawney Bean Alexander "Sawney" Bean was said to be the head of a 45-member clan in Scotland in the 16th century that murdered and cannibalized over 1,000 people in 25 years. According to legend, Bean and his clan members were eventually caught by a search ...

'' with

Robert Nye The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, hono ...

in 1970, and, with Nye, Stanley Eveling,

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many ...

, Clarisse Eriksson, John Downing and David Mowat an adaptation of Dracula which premiered in Edinburgh in 1969, and in London in 1972. He wrote six spy thrillers under the nom-de-plume of J K Mayo between 1986 and 1997 using a middle-aged, irritable, Gauloise-smoking ex-army Colonel named Harry Seddall as his hero for these popular books. An interesting aside is his apparent enjoyment of using little-known and obscure words to enhance his excellent descriptions of places and intelligent conversations throughout the books. He died in an Edinburgh nursing home on 5 December 2005 after a long illness. He left a wife named Catherine Robins.

Selected works

¹ Published under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

of J.K. Mayo.

References

Scottish novelists 1930 births 2005 deaths Scottish dramatists and playwrights People educated at Edinburgh Academy Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 20th-century Scottish novelists Scottish male novelists 20th-century British dramatists and playwrights 20th-century British male writers {{Scotland-writer-stub