John Ardagh (28 May 1928,

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– 26 January 2008,

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) was a British journalist, writer and broadcaster. He was educated at

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governors , ...

, Dorset, and

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms ...

, where he took a degree in classics and philosophy. 1953 until 1959 he worked for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fo ...

'' as a staff writer and correspondent in France and

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.Anne Corbett: “John Ardagh” in The Guardian February 26th 2008 His interest in provincial themes developed through work for Independent Television News, and as a correspondent for ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'' (1960–66), writing mostly about culture. His book ''The New French Revolution'', first published in 1968, has been updated many times, most recently as ''France in the New Century: Portrait of a Changing Society'' (1999) Ardagh wrote other books to reflect "real" life in Europe. ''Tale of Five Cities'', based on major provincial centers of Europe, appeared in 1979. ''Germany and the Germ''ans he wrote 1987 together with his German wife Katharina. ''Ireland and the Irish'' (1994) drew on his own family roots. He was also managing editor of th''e

Good Food Guide ''The Good Food Guide'' has been reviewing the best restaurants, pubs and cafés in Great Britain since 1951. In October 2021, Adam Hyman purchased ''The Good Food Guide'' for an undisclosed sum from Waitrose & Partners. The ''Guide'' is being r ...

'' from 1966 to 1968, and European editor of the '' Good Hotel Guide'' for 25 years. Ardagh continued to work for better cross-Channel understanding as a member of the

Franco-British Council The Franco-British Council is an organisation created on the joint initiative of President Georges Pompidou and Prime Minister Edward Heath in order to promote better understanding between United Kingdom and France and to contribute to the develo ...

(1992–98). There his name is associated with a study of publishing in France and Britain (1995), produced with the French historian,

François Crouzet François Crouzet (20 October 1922 – 20 March 2010) was a French historian. Considered the greatest French historian of Britain of his generation, he was Professor Emeritus of Modern History at the Université de Paris-Sorbonne at the time of ...

. He was made a

Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose i ...

by the French Government. His explorer roots went back to his childhood. His father Osmond Ardagh was a colonial administrator and played

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for

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. His mother was

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

. He was married four times, showing his “cosmopolitan streak in his choice of wives: English,

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech ...

(rescued from the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was el ...

of 1968),

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

and German”(Katharina, born Schmitz, *1951 in Berlin). His son from the first marriage is the author and speaker (Nicholas) Arjuna Ardagh.

Books authored

* (and previous editions) * (and previous editions) * *

References

External links

Obituary in ''The Times'', January 30, 2008Obituary in ''The Slovenia Times'', February 22, 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ardagh, John 1928 births 2008 deaths English male journalists The Times people English male non-fiction writers