Michael Anthony Bloch (born 24 September 1953) is an author and historian. Educated at Portadown College and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, he was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1978 and in 1979 became an assistant to Maître Suzanne Blum, the Parisian lawyer of the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

and Duchess of Windsor. Bloch's books include several about the Duke and Duchess, an authorized biography of James Lees-Milne, a study of the Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe, and a biography of Frederick Matthias Alexander, founder of the

Alexander Technique The Alexander technique, named after its developer Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869–1955), is an alternative therapy based on the idea that poor posture causes a range of health problems. The American National Center for Complementary a ...

. Bloch was once the lover of Lees-Milne, writing in 2009: "I thought he was quite simply the most wonderful person I had ever met". In a review, it was noted that Bloch in his biography of Lees-Milne had a "laudable objectivity" about him, despite being one of his "most loyal and long-term late-in-life amours".

Books

* ''The Duke of Windsor's War'' (Weidenfeld, 1982) * ''Operation Willi'' (Weidenfeld, 1984) *''Wallis and Edward: The Intimate Correspondence of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor'' (Weidenfeld, 1986) * ''The Secret File of the Duke of Windsor'' (Bantam Press, 1988) * ''The Reign and Abdication of Edward VIII'' (Bantam Press, 1990) * ''Ribbentrop'' (Bantam Press, 1992) * ''The Duchess of Windsor'' (Weidenfeld, 1996), * ''FM: The Life of Frederick Matthias Alexander, Founder of the Alexander Technique'' (Little Brown, 2004) * ''James Lees-Milne: The Life'' (John Murray, 2009) * ''Jeremy Thorpe'' (Little Brown, 2014) * ''Closet Queens: Some 20th Century British Politicians'' (Little Brown, 2015) Bloch edited the later diaries of James Lees-Milne for publication by John Murray: ''Deep Romantic Chasm, 1979-81'' (2000); ''Holy Dread, 1982-84'' (2001); ''Beneath a Waning Moon, 1985-97'' (2003); ''Ceaseless Turmoil, 1988-92'' (2004); ''The Milk of Paradise, 1993-97'' (2005). He also abridged the original 12-volume series in 3 volumes: ''Diaries, 1942-54'' (2006); ''Diaries, 1971-83'' (2007); ''Diaries, 1984-97'' (2008).

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloch, Michael Anthony 1953 births Living people People educated at Portadown College Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Members of the Inner Temple