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Gareth Russell (author)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gareth Russell
BornBelfast, Northern Ireland
OccupationAuthor
NationalityBritish
Education
GenreHistory, historical fiction, young-adult fiction
Notable worksDo Let's Have Another Drink
The Ship of Dreams
Young and Damned and Fair

Gareth Russell is a Northern Irish historian, author, and broadcaster.

Early life and education

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Gareth Russell was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He attended Down High Grammar School, and later graduated from St Peter's College, Oxford, where he studied modern history.[1] Russell completed a Master's degree in medieval history at Queen's University, Belfast. He currently divides his time between Belfast, London and New York.[2]

Career

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Russell is the author of a series of plays.[3] In July 2011, his first novel Popular was published by Penguin, as the first in a new series of novels following the lives of a group of Belfast teenagers. It was published in German in 2014.[4] A sequel to Popular, titled The Immaculate Deception, was published in November 2012. Both novels were subsequently adapted for the stage in Northern Ireland, followed by a final theatrical sequel, Say You'll Remember Me, which received its first performance in 2016.[5]

In August 2014, Russell's first non-fiction book, The Emperors: How Europe's Rulers were Destroyed by World War One, was published by Amberley Publishing.[6] In 2017, his biography of English queen consort Catherine Howard was published, based on research undertaken between 2010 and 2016.[7] It was published by Simon & Schuster in the US and Canada, and HarperCollins in the UK, Ireland, and most of the Commonwealth. It was a finalist for the Slightly Foxed Best First Biography award in 2017, which was won that year by Edmund Gordon's biography of Angela Carter.[8] In 2019, his account of the Titanic disaster was published.[9] It was named a Book of the Year by The Times[10] and a Best History Book of 2019 by The Daily Telegraph.[11]

In 2022, his biography of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was published.[12] It was his second book to become a Times Book of the Year.[13] In the same year, he was a main contributor to BBC Northern Ireland's and Al Jazeera's coverage for the death and funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and accession of Charles III.

In 2023, Russell's The Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of History at Hampton Court was published.[14][15] It was named a BBC History Book of the Year.[16]

Bibliography

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Novels

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  • Popular (2011)
  • The Immaculate Deception (2012)

Non-Fiction

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  • The Emperors: How Europe's Rulers were destroyed by World War I (2014)
  • An Illustrated Introduction to the Tudors (2014)
  • A History of the English Monarchy from Boadicea to Elizabeth I (2015)
  • Young and Damned and Fair: The Life of Catherine Howard, Fifth Wife of King Henry VIII (US title) (2017)
    • In the UK, this book's subtitle is The Life and Tragedy of Catherine Howard at the Court of Henry VIII
  • The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era (2019), originally published as The Darksome Bounds of a Failing World in the UK and Ireland
  • Do Let's Have Another Drink: The Singular Wit and Double Measures of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (2022). In the US and Canada, the book is Do Let's Have Another Drink: The Dry Wit and Fizzy Life of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
  • The Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of History at Hampton Court (2023)

Notes

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  1. ^ "About". The Popular Series. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  2. ^ Author biography, Young and Damned and Fair (UK edition, 2017), Author Biography, The Palace (UK edition, 2023)
  3. ^ De Buitléir 2014.
  4. ^ Russell 2011.
  5. ^ "Theatre Review: Popular -'Say You'll Remember Me' (At the MAC) | EILE Magazine". Archived from the original on 27 December 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Off with their heads: 'The Emperors: How Europe's Rulers Were Destroyed by the First World War'".
  7. ^ Russell, Gareth (17 April 2018). Young and Damned and Fair. ISBN 9781501108648 – via www.simonandschuster.com.
  8. ^ "Angela Carter biography wins award | The Spectator".
  9. ^ Lisle, Leanda de. "The Darksome Bounds of a Failing World by Gareth Russell review — how the Titanic sank the Edwardian era" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  10. ^ Marriott, Robbie Millen | James. "The 50 best books of 2019" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Heffer, Simon (18 December 2019). "The best new history books to buy for Christmas 2019". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  12. ^ Bayley, Sian (4 February 2022). "William Collins signs "amusing and astonishing" collection of stories about the Queen Mother". The Bookseller.
  13. ^ Reid, Melanie (26 November 2022). "6 best books on the royal family 2022". The Times. (subscription required)
  14. ^ "The Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of History at Hampton Court". Harper Reach. HarperCollins. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  15. ^ "The Palace". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  16. ^ BBC History Magazine, Christmas 2023, p. 69.

References

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Russell Instagram