Mervyn Jones (27 February 1922 – 23 February 2010) was a British novelist, journalist and biographer, the son of psychoanalyst

Ernest Jones Alfred Ernest Jones (1 January 1879 – 11 February 1958) was a Welsh neurologist and psychoanalyst. A lifelong friend and colleague of Sigmund Freud from their first meeting in 1908, he became his official biographer. Jones was the first En ...

. Mervyn Jones wrote 29 novels (five unpublished), including ''John and Mary'' (1966), the basis for the 1969

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

, and ''Holding On'' (1973), which was adapted for television in 1977. Jones also wrote non-fiction, reportage and biography, including a fictional biography of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

in 1970 and a biography of his friend

Michael Foot Michael Mackintosh Foot (23 July 19133 March 2010) was a British politician who was Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition from 1980 to 1983. Foot beg ...

, the former Labour Party leader, in 1994. A former

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

, Jones wrote for the ''Daily Worker'', and later the ''

New Reasoner ''The New Reasoner'' was a British journal of dissident Communism published from 1957 to 1959 by John Saville and E. P. Thompson. The publication is best remembered as an antecedent of the long-running journal ''New Left Review''. ''The Rea ...

'' and ''Tribune''; he was later assistant editor at the ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

''. He died in 2010 at age 87.

Selected works

Fiction

*''No Time To Be Young'' (1952) *''The New Town'' (1953) *''Helen Blake'' (1955) *''On the Last Day'' (1958) *''A Set of Wives'' (1965) *''John and Mary'' (1966) *''A Survivor'' (1968) *''Joseph'' (1970) *''Mr Armitage Isn't Back Yet'' (1971) *''Holding On'' (1973; new edition by Eland in 2009) *''The Revolving Door'' (1973) *''Strangers'' (1974) *''Lord Richard's Passion'' (1974) *''Twilight of the Day'' (1975) *''The Pursuit of Happiness'' (1975) *''Scenes From Bourgeois Life'' (1976) *''Nobody's Fault'' (1977) *''Today The Struggle'' (1978) *''The Beautiful Words'' (1979) *''A Short Time To Live'' (1980) *''Two Women and Their Man'' (1982) *''Joanna's Luck'' (1984) *''Coming Home'' (1986) *''That Year in Paris'' (1988)

Non-fiction

*''Guilty Men'' (1957) ith Michael Foot*''Potbank: A Social Enquiry into Life in the Potteries'' (1961) *''Big Two: Life in America and Russia'' (1962) ka ''The Antagonists''*''Two Ears of Corn –

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It began as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief ...

in Action'' (1965) ka ''In Famine's Shadow – a Private War on Hunger''*''

Kingsley Martin Basil Kingsley Martin (28 July 1897 – 16 February 1969) usually known as Kingsley Martin, was a British journalist who edited the left-leaning political magazine the ''New Statesman'' from 1930 to 1960. Early life He was the son of (Dav ...

: Portrait and Self-portrait'' (1969) d.*''Rhodesia: The White Judge's Burden'' (1972) *''Life on the Dole'' (1972) *''Privacy'' (1974) *''The Oil Rush'' (1976) *''Chances: An Autobiography'' (1987) *''A Radical Life: The Biography of

Megan Lloyd George Lady Megan Arvon Lloyd George, (22 April 1902 – 14 May 1966) was a Welsh politician and the first female Member of Parliament (MP) for a Welsh constituency. She also served as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, before later becoming a L ...

'' (1991) *''Michael Foot'' (1994) *''The Amazing Victorian: A Life of

George Meredith George Meredith (12 February 1828 – 18 May 1909) was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era. At first, his focus was poetry, influenced by John Keats among others, but Meredith gradually established a reputation as a novelist. '' ...

'' (1999)

References

External links

* ''Daily Telegraph'' obituary, 24 February 201
''Guardian'' obituary
1922 births 2010 deaths British male journalists British people of Czech-Jewish descent Jewish English writers New York University alumni British socialists Communist Party of Great Britain members People educated at Abbotsholme School British male novelists Writers from the London Borough of Camden Writers from the City of Westminster 20th-century British novelists 20th-century British biographers British male biographers British republicans {{UK-film-bio-stub