John Harding (1951 – September 2017) was a British writer and novelist.

Life and career

Harding was born in

Prickwillow Prickwillow is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, with an estimated population of 440. Originally a small Hamlet (place), hamlet on the banks of the River Great Ouse, it is now on the banks of the River Lark since re-organisation of the river ...

, a village near

Ely, Cambridgeshire Ely ( ) is a cathedral city and civil parish in the East Cambridgeshire district, in Cambridgeshire, England, northeast of Cambridge, southeast of Peterborough and from London. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the built-up a ...

, in 1951. He attended local schools before reading English Literature at

St Catherine's College, Oxford St Catherine's College (colloquially called St Catz or Catz) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. In 1974, it was also one of the first men's colleges to admit women. It has 528 un ...

. After university, he moved to London in 1974, where he worked for as a reporter for

DC Thomson DC Thomson is a media company based in Dundee, Scotland. Founded by David Couper Thomson in 1905, it is best known for publishing ''The Courier (Dundee), The Courier'', ''Evening Telegraph (Dundee), The Evening Telegraph'' and ''The Sunday Pos ...

. After eventually becoming an editor for several popular magazines, Harding went freelance in 1985 to pursue his ambition of becoming a novelist. His first book novel, ''What We Did on Our Holiday'' was published in 2000. The book describes a man taking his father, who has advanced

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

, on holiday to Malta. It was adapted for TV in 2006 starring

Shane Richie Shane Patrick Paul Roche (born 11 March 1964), known as Shane Richie, is an English actor, comedian, presenter and singer. Following initial success as a stage and screen performer, he became best known for his portrayal of the character Alfie ...

and

Roger Lloyd-Pack Roger Anthony Lloyd-Pack (8 February 1944 – 16 January 2014) was a British actor. He is best known for playing Trigger in ''Only Fools and Horses'' from 1981 to 2003, and Owen Newitt in ''The Vicar of Dibley'' from 1994 to 2007. He later star ...

. Harding would go on to publish four more novels, spanning multiple genres. Harding was married with two children, and lived in

Richmond-upon-Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in south-west London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under ...

. He died in September 2017.

Works

*''What We Did on Our Holiday'' (2000) *''While the Sun Shines'' (2002) *''One Big Damn Puzzler'' (2005) *''Florence and Giles'' (2010) *''The Girl who Couldn't Read'' (2014)

References

1951 births 2017 deaths Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford People from Ely, Cambridgeshire British writers {{UK-writer-stub