John Alexander Guy (born 16 January 1949) is a British

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

and biographer specialising in the early modern period.

Biography

Born in Warragul, Victoria,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, Guy moved to Britain with his parents in 1952. He was educated at King Edward VII School in Lytham St Annes in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, and

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the Unive ...

, where he read history, achieving a First in 1970. At Cambridge, Guy studied under the Tudor specialist Geoffrey Elton. He was awarded a Greene Cup by Clare College in 1970 and the Yorke Prize by the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1976. He was appointed a Research Fellow at Selwyn College in 1970, completing his PhD on Thomas Wolsey in 1973. During his academic career, Guy has held posts at St Andrews University (where he is Honorary Professor and was sometime Vice-Principal for Research), Bristol University, UC Berkeley, University of Rochester and

Johns Hopkins Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland, where he remained for mos ...

. Guy currently teaches at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, as a fellow of Clare College, where he teaches part-time so he can devote more time to his writing and broadcasting career. Guy specializes in the history of Tudor England and has written extensively on the subject including juvenile books. His books have been critically acclaimed, with ''My Heart is My Own: the Life of Mary Queen of Scots'', being awarded the 2004 Whitbread Biography Award. This book and ''Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart'' served as inspiration for the 2018 film ''Mary Queen of Scots''. He is the author of ''A Daughter's Love: Thomas More and his daughter Meg'', 2008, and '' Elizabeth: the forgotten years'', 2016. Guy's style is one of re-assessment and evaluation; his works often involve him re-telling and re-evaluating history from a novel viewpoint.

Personal life

He is married to author Julia Fox, a former history teacher, who wrote '' Jane Boleyn: The Infamous Lady Rochford''. She is his second wife. He was previously married and had a son, born in about 1982.

Bibliography

* ''Tudor England'' (1988). Oxford: Oxford University Press. . * ''The Tudors: A Very Short Introduction'' (2000). Oxford: Oxford University Press. * ''My Heart is my Own: The life of Mary, Queen of Scots'' (2004). New York City: Harper Perennial. . * ''Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart'' (2005). Boston: Mariner Books. . * ''A Daughter's Love'' (2008). London: Fourth Estate. * ''Thomas Becket: Warrior, Priest, Rebel, A 900-year-old story retold'' (2012). New York City: Viking Books. . * ''The Children of Henry VIII'' (2013). Oxford: Oxford University Press. . * ''Henry VIII: The Quest for Fame'' (2014). London: Allen Lane. . * ''Elizabeth: The Forgotten Years'' (2016). New York City: Viking Books. . * ''Thomas More: A Very Brief History'' (2017). London: SPCK Publishing. . * ''Gresham's Law: The Life and World of Queen Elizabeth I's Banker'' (2019). London: Profile Books. . * ''Hunting the Falcon: Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and the Marriage That Shook Europe'' with Julia Fox. (2023). London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

References

* University of St Andrews
Professor John GuyBiography on Guy's own website
* British Council
''contemporary writers'' page

External links

Tudors.org – History lectures, essays and notes written by John Guy
Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Academics of the University of St Andrews Fellows of Clare College, Cambridge 1949 births Living people Academics of the University of Cambridge People educated at King Edward VII and Queen Mary School People from Warragul Royal biographers Tudor historians Australian emigrants to England Fellows of Selwyn College, Cambridge Academics of the University of Bristol University of California, Berkeley faculty Johns Hopkins University faculty University of Rochester faculty Fellows of the Royal Historical Society {{UK-historian-stub