Jason Goodwin (born June 1964) is an English writer and historian.

Biography

Goodwin attended Sussex House School and

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

, before studying history at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. Following the success of ''The Gunpowder Gardens or, A Time For Tea: Travels in China and India in Search of Tea'', he walked from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Istanbul, Turkey Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With a population over , it is home to 18% of the population of Turkey. Istanbul is among the largest cities in Europe and in th ...

. His account of the journey, ''On Foot to the Golden Horn'', won the John Llewellyn Rhys/Mail on Sunday Prize in 1993. Subsequently, he wrote ''Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire'', which was featured on the cover of ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

''. Later, he became popular as the author of a series of

historical mystery The historical mystery or historical whodunit is a subgenre of two literary genres, historical fiction and mystery fiction. These works are set in a time period considered historical from the author's perspective, and the central plot involves th ...

novels beginning with '' The Janissary Tree'', which pivot on the Ottoman investigator Yashim, a

eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...

living in Istanbul during the 1830s-1840s. ''The Janissary Tree'' won the

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

for Best Novel in 2007 and novels in the series have been translated into over 40 languages. '' The Snake Stone'' involves a French archaeologist and Byron's doctor. ''The Bellini Card'' takes the action to Venice, and involves Italian painter

Gentile Bellini Gentile Bellini (c. 1429 – 23 February 1507) was an Italian painter of the Venetian painting, school of Venice. He came from Venice's leading family of painters, and, at least in the early part of his career, was more highly regarded than his y ...

's portrait of Mehmed II. The fourth Yashim novel, ''An Evil Eye'', centres on the Ottoman sultan's harem, and the final Istanbul adventure, ''The Baklava Club'', involves Italian and Polish revolutionaries in Istanbul. In 2016 Goodwin published a cookbook, ''Yashim Cooks Istanbul'', based on the detective series, which was selected by NPR's Book Concierge as one of its Great Reads of the year. From January 2018 he has written the weekly Spectator column for '' Country Life'' magazine. Goodwin is the son of writers Jocasta Innes and

John Michell John Michell (; 25 December 1724 – 21 April 1793) was an English natural philosopher and clergyman who provided pioneering insights into a wide range of scientific fields including astronomy, geology, optics, and gravitation. Considered "on ...

. However, his parents separated before he was born. Goodwin did not meet his birth father until 1992, at the age of 28,"John Michell, Counterculture Author Who Cherished Idiosyncrasy, Dies at 76", ''New York Times'', May 2, 2009
and was raised by his mother's first husband, the film producer Richard B. Goodwin.Obituary: Jocasta Innes
telegraph.co.uk, 23 April 2013 One of his four half-sisters is the British TV producer and novelist

Daisy Goodwin Daisy Georgia Goodwin (born 19 December 1961) is an English screenwriter, TV producer and novelist. She is the creator of the ITV/ PBS show '' Victoria'' which has sold to 146 countries. She has written four novels: ''My Last Duchess'' or ''Th ...

. He is married and has four children.

Published works

Non-fiction

*''The Gunpowder Gardens: Travels Through India and China in Search of Tea'' (1990); published in the USA as ''A Time For Tea: Travels in China and India in Search of Tea'' (1991) *''On Foot to the Golden Horn: A Walk to Istanbul'' (1993) *''Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire'' (1998) *''Greenback: The Almighty Dollar and the Invention of America'' (2003) *''Yashim Cooks Istanbul: Culinary Adventures in the Ottoman Kitchen'' (2016)

Fiction

*Yashim the Eunuch Investigator novels: **'' The Janissary Tree'' (2006) **'' The Snake Stone'' (2007) **''The Bellini Card'' (2008) **''An Evil Eye'' (2011) **''The Baklava Club'' (2014)

Awards

*1987 Spectator/Sunday Telegraph Young Writer of the Year (UK) *1991 Thomas Cook Travel Writing Award (UK) ''The Gunpowder Gardens'' shortlisted *1993 John Llewllyn Rhys Prize (UK) ''On Foot to the Golden Horn: A Walk to Istanbul'' *2007

for Best Novel (US) ''The Janissary Tree'' *2007 Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel (US) ''The Janissary Tree'' shortlisted *2012 Library Dagger (UK) shortlist

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodwin, Jason 1964 births Living people Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British historians British writers John Llewellyn Rhys Prize winners Writers of historical mysteries Edgar Award winners People educated at Sussex House School