James Oswald is a Scottish writer and farmer who has written the ''Inspector McLean'' and (as J. D. Oswald) ''The Ballad of Sir Benfro'' series of novels. He initially self-published his books but later was published by

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

. Since 2018, he has been published by Wildfire, an imprint of the

Headline Publishing Group Headline Publishing Group is a British publishing brand and former company. It was founded in 1986 by Tim Hely Hutchinson. In 1993, Headline bought Hodder & Stoughton, and the company became Hodder Headline Ltd. In 1999, Hodder Headline was acqu ...

, where he has continued the ''Inspector McLean'' series and introduced a new series character Constance Fairchild. His brother is the playwright

Peter Oswald Peter Charles Patrick Oswald (born 1965) is an English playwright specialising in verse drama. He was a resident at Shakespeare's Globe theatre in London from 1998 to 2009. Early life Oswald was born the second of four children (eldest of thr ...

. His maternal grandfather was churchman and writer Patrick McLaughlin.

Early life

Oswald was born a son of farmer and stockbroker Peter David Hamilton Oswald and Juliet (née McLaughlin). His uncle was Sir

Julian Oswald Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Julian Robertson Oswald (11 August 1933 – 19 July 2011) was a senior Royal Navy officer. After training as a gunnery specialist, Oswald commanded a frigate and then a destroyer before achieving higher command in t ...

First Sea Lord First Sea Lord, officially known as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS), is the title of a statutory position in the British Armed Forces, held by an Admiral (Royal Navy), admiral or a General (United Kingdom), general of the ...

from 1989 to 1993. The Oswalds were

landed gentry The landed gentry, or the gentry (sometimes collectively known as the squirearchy), is a largely historical Irish and British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. It is t ...

, of Cavens,

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

, and

Auchincruive Auchincruive is a former country house and estate in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located east of Ayr, on the north bank of the River Ayr. Auchincruive House was built in the 18th century on the site of an earlier mansion. In 1927, the estat ...

(now named "Oswald Hall"),

South Ayrshire South Ayrshire (; , ) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire. South Ayrshire had an estimated population in 2021 of 112,45 ...

, Scotland, descending from merchant

George Oswald George Oswald of Scotstoun (1735–1819) was a Scottish merchant of Glasgow. In 1797 he was elected Rector of the University of Glasgow. Life He was the son of the Rev. James Oswald (1703–1793), and nephew of the merchant Richard Oswald (merc ...

Rector of the University of Glasgow The (Lord) Rector of the University of Glasgow is one of the most senior posts within the institution, elected every three years by students. The theoretical role of the rector is to represent students to the senior management of the university ...

from 1797 to 1799,

Novels

''Inspector McLean'' series

Inspector Anthony McLean is a detective in the

Lothian and Borders Police Lothian and Borders Police was the territorial police force for the Scottish council areas of the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian between 1975 and 2013. The force's headquarters were in Fett ...

force, stationed in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

''Constance Fairchild'' series

''The Ballad of Sir Benfro'' series

Farming

He runs a livestock farm in North East Fife, where he raises Highland cattle.Official page

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oswald, James Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) 20th-century births Living people 20th-century Scottish male writers 20th-century Scottish novelists 21st-century Scottish male writers 21st-century Scottish novelists Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Scottish male novelists Writers from Fife