Peter Anthony Scott Farquhar (3 January 1946 – 26 October 2015) was a British novelist and former teacher of English for 34 years, at the
Manchester Grammar School
The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a free grammar school next to Manchester Parish Church, it moved in 1931 to its present site at ...
and
Stowe School
, motto_translation = I stand firm and I stand first
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public school Independent school, day & boarding
, religion = Church of England
, president =
, head_label = Headmaster
...
. He later lectured at
Buckingham University
, mottoeng = Flying on Our Own Wings
, established = 1973; as university college1983; as university
, type = Private
, endowment =
, administrative_staff = 97 academic, 103 support
, chan ...
.
Early life

Peter Farquhar was born in Edinburgh on 3 January 1946, the son of a physician. He was educated at
Latymer Upper School
(Slowly Therefore Surely)
, established =
, closed =
, sister_school = Godolphin and Latymer School
, type = Public schoolIndependent day school
, head_label = H ...
in London and then
Churchill College, Cambridge
Churchill College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It has a primary focus on science, engineering and technology, but still retains a strong interest in the arts and humanities.
In 1958, a trust was establis ...
, where he achieved a first-class degree in English.
[Peter Farquhar obituary.]
Michael Crick
Michael Lawrence Crick (born 21 May 1958) is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He was a founding member of the '' Channel 4 News'' Team in 1982 and remained there until joining the BBC in 1990.Ian Burrel"Michael Crick: 'Cuts are hu ...
, ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide ...
'', 29 November 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
Career

Farquhar was a teacher of English for 34 years, firstly at the
Manchester Grammar School
The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a free grammar school next to Manchester Parish Church, it moved in 1931 to its present site at ...
(1970–82) and then
Stowe School
, motto_translation = I stand firm and I stand first
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public school Independent school, day & boarding
, religion = Church of England
, president =
, head_label = Headmaster
...
(1983–2004). From 2007 he was an occasional lecturer at Buckingham University. He was described by his friend and former pupil at Manchester,
Michael Crick
Michael Lawrence Crick (born 21 May 1958) is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He was a founding member of the '' Channel 4 News'' Team in 1982 and remained there until joining the BBC in 1990.Ian Burrel"Michael Crick: 'Cuts are hu ...
, as having "an acute understanding of the problems of modern adolescent boys. For some, he became almost like a second father."
[
His first novel, ''A Wide Wide Sea'', a ]coming-of-age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
story about three teenagers from Edinburgh who travel to France and Spain on a voyage of self-discovery, was written in 1997 but not published until 2015. It was only published after two Buckingham University students, Ben Field and Martyn Smith, discovered the manuscript and persuaded Farquhar to publish it. His novel, ''Between Boy and Man'', was published in 2010. The plot was heavily based on Farquhar's experience at Stowe School and concerns the struggle of a school chaplain to reconcile his Christian faith with his homosexuality.[
The character of Dr Farquhar, played by ]Toby Stephens
Toby Stephens (born 21 April 1969) is an English actor who has appeared in films in the UK, US and India. He is known for the roles of Bond villain Gustav Graves in the 2002 James Bond film ''Die Another Day'' (for which he was nominated for the ...
in the 2013 film '' Believe'', directed by the former Manchester Grammar School pupil David Scheinmann, was partly based on Farquhar.[
Farquhar was an ]evangelical Christian
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "born again", in which an individual experi ...
who once considered becoming a minister. He worshipped and preached at Stowe Parish Church
Stowe is a civil parish and former village about northwest of Buckingham in the unitary authority area of Buckinghamshire, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Boycott, Dadford and Lamport.
Stowe House is a Grade I listed country ho ...
for 20 years.[
]
Murder
Farquhar died in Maids Moreton
Maids Moreton is a village and civil parish in north-west Buckinghamshire, England, around north of Buckingham. The village sits on top of a plateau overlooking Buckingham and is less than 1km away from the Foxcote Reservoir SSSI
Description ...
, Buckinghamshire, on 26 October 2015. His death was recorded as accidental as the result of acute alcohol intoxication
Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main ...
. He was "betrothed" to former student Benjamin Field in 2015 and was survived by his brother, Ian.[ In January 2018, Field and magician friend Martyn Smith were arrested by police on suspicion of murdering Farquhar and attempting to murder his neighbour Ann Moore-Martin, 83.] During his trial at Oxford Crown Court, Field admitted to drugging Farquhar with benzodiazepine
Benzodiazepines (BZD, BDZ, BZs), sometimes called "benzos", are a class of depressant drugs whose core chemical structure is the fusion of a benzene ring and a diazepine ring. They are prescribed to treat conditions such as anxiety disorders, ...
s and hallucinogens to "torment" him, telling the jury that he did it "for no other reason other than it was cruel, to upset and torment Peter – purely out of meanness". He also spiked his drink with bioethanol and Poitín
Poitín (), anglicized as poteen () or potcheen, is a traditional Irish distilled beverage (40–90% ABV). Former common names for Poitín were "Irish moonshine" and "mountain dew". It was traditionally distilled in a small pot still and the ...
in order to make him question his sanity, a form of gaslighting
Gaslighting is a colloquialism, loosely defined as manipulating someone so as to make them question their own reality. The term derives from the title of the 1944 American film '' Gaslight'', which was based on the 1938 British theatre play '' G ...
. According to prosecutors, Field suffocated
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can i ...
Farquhar when he was too weak to resist.
On 9 August 2019, Benjamin Field was convicted of his murder, and on 18 October 2019 sentenced to life imprisonment. Field was acquitted of the attempted murder of Moore-Martin.
"A Diary From the Grave", a documentary about the murders, aired on 13 January 2020 on Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
as part of the ''Catching a Killer
''Catching a Killer'' is a British true crime documentary television series that has aired on Channel 4 since 2017. Each episode documents detectives with the Thames Valley Police as they investigate a murder. Five episodes have aired as of Janu ...
'' series.
Selected publications
* ''Between Boy and Man''. AuthorHouse, 2010.
* ''A Bitter Heart''. AuthorHouse, 2012.
* ''A Wide Wide Sea''. Farquhar Studies, 2015.
In popular media
In 2020, BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...
commissioned ''The Sixth Commandment'', a true crime drama written by Sarah Phelps
Sarah Phelps is a British television screenwriter, radio writer, playwright and television producer. She is best known for her work on '' EastEnders'', a number of BBC serial adaptations including Agatha Christie's ''The Witness For the Prosecu ...
about the murder.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farquhar, Peter
2015 deaths
Writers from Edinburgh
Schoolteachers from Edinburgh
People educated at Latymer Upper School
Alumni of Churchill College, Cambridge
1946 births
Scottish novelists
Scottish evangelicals
Scottish murder victims
People murdered in England
2015 murders in the United Kingdom