Katharine Campbell’s father Sholto Douglas was the hero of her childhood, an unconventional senior commander in the Royal Air Force, described as ‘a gloriously contentious character’. Following childhood abandonment and poverty, Sholto rose through the ranks of the fledgling RAF in the First World War before taking on a crucial role in the Second as…

Miranda Seymour has a request. ‘I’m completing a commissioned life of Jean Rhys and hoping to talk with biographers who can advise me on the best strategy when dealing with permissions. The Rhys estate are well disposed but I don’t want to commit any disastrous errors, having promised (crossing my fingers) only to paraphrase Rhys’s…

Jane’s next book  has been commissioned by The History Press.  It’s called Tangled Souls: Love, Obsession and Scandal  among the Victorian Aristocracy. Est. date of publication: Feb. 2022. Jane Dismore is a freelance writer of history and heritage and a biographer. She writes books and features and is a member of the Society of Authors, the Biographers’ Club,…

About A fascinating insight into a daughter’s discovery of her mother’s secret life during World War II. Original letters and photographs from family and friends’ archives, including the Vatican War enquiry Dept., the Foreign Office, Bletchley Park and the National Archives. How was Daisy Lawrence chosen? Why she was chosen, and what did she do?…

Kate Crehan wins the 2020 Tony Lothian Prize for her proposal But Will it Get a Laugh? The Life of Doris Hare in Three Acts Doris Hare’s performance career, from child actress to Variety and the pre-war revues of Noel Coward and Andre Charlot to nationwide fame in the TV sitcom On the Buses, spans much…

Tony Lothian Prize 2020 Our shortlist for the best proposal for an uncommissioned biography received in 2020 is just announced, and the prize will be awarded at a Biographers’ Club celebratory event on Zoom on Tuesday 1 December Brad Bigelow: Failures – Six Ways to be Forgotten There’s really only one way to succeed as a…

Historian and biographer Kevin Shillington has released Patrick van Rensburg, Rebel, visionary and radical educationist, a biography. His recent books include Albert René: the Father of Modern Seychelles (2014) and History of Africa 4th edition (2019) Patrick van Rensburg (1931–2017) was an anti-apartheid activist and self-made ‘alternative educationist’ whose work received international recognition with the Right Livelihood Award in 1981. Born in KwaZulu-Natal into what he…

Member and Author Mohsin Zaidi’s biography ‘A Dutiful Boy’ was published just over a week ago to critical acclaim. Mohsin Zaidi grew up in a devout Muslim community in an economically deprived area of East London. Feeling isolated from his family, as he struggled with his sexuality, Moshin found an incredible drive for education, and became…