Sir Peter Stothard (born 28 February 1951) is a British author, journalist and critic. From 1992 to 2002 he was editor of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'' and from 2002 to 2016 editor of ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'', the only journalist to have held both roles. He writes books about Roman history and his four books of memoir cover both political and classical themes.

Early life

He was the son of Max Stothard, an electrical engineer who worked at the Marconi Research Centre,

Great Baddow Great Baddow is an urban village and civil parish in the Chelmsford borough of Essex, England. It is close to the city of Chelmsford, and, with a population of over 13,000,Brentwood School, Essex (1962–68); and

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

, where he became editor of

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

student newspaper '' Cherwell.''

Career

Stothard joined the BBC after leaving university, and wrote for the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members o ...

'', '' New Society'' and '' Plays and Players''. He joined ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, wh ...

'' in 1978 and ''

'' in 1981, becoming chief leader writer, deputy editor and, based in Washington, US editor. He published ''Thirty Days: An Inside Account of

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of the ...

at War'' (HarperCollins, 2010, ) in 2004, based on observations inside

Downing Street Downing Street is a street in Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Situated off Whitehall, it is long, and a few minutes' walk ...

during the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

. During a stage of Stothard's editorship, ''The Times'' reached an average sale of over 900,000 – the highest in its history. This was, in part, the result of the so-called "price war" that started in 1993 when ''The Times'' reduced its cover price and started intense circulation battles against ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' and ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

''. In 1999, he became involved in a controversial legal dispute over political funding with the Conservative Party Treasurer

Michael Ashcroft Michael Anthony Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft, (born 4 March 1946) is a British-Belizean businessman, pollster and politician. He is a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. Ashcroft founded Michael A. Ashcroft Associates in 1972 and i ...

. Lord Ashcroft sued, but subsequently withdrew his suit after a statement agreed by both parties. Stothard was named as Editor of the Year in the same year by

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

's ''

What the Papers Say ''What The Papers Say'' is a British radio and television series. It consists of quotations from headlines and comment pages in the previous week's newspapers, read in a variety of voices and accents by actors. The quotes are linked by a scri ...

''. In 2000, he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and was away from ''The Times'' for 10 months for successful treatment. Whilst editor of ''The Times Literary Supplement,'' he often wrote about Greek and Roman literature. In 2010, his first book of memoir, ''On the Spartacus Road'' (Harper Press, 2011, 978-0-00-73408-4), combined an account of the

Spartacus Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprisin ...

uprising with elements of autobiography. His second, ''Alexandria, The Last Nights of Cleopatra'' (Granta, 2012, 978-1-84708-703-5), extended the same form, including accounts of newspaper life alongside the story of his engagement with Greece, Rome and Egypt. ''Alexandria...'' won the 2013 Criticos Prize for literature on themes from ancient or modern Greece. ''The Senecans: Four Men and Margaret Thatcher'', his memoir of the 1980s and '90s, was published in September 2016. The critic Stuart Kelly described Stothard as "one of the most avant-garde practitioners of the form". He was chairman of judges for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction (2012) and president of the

Classical Association The Classical Association is a British learned society in the field of classics, aimed at developing classical study and promoting its importance in education. Constitution The association was founded on 19 December 1903, and its objects are de ...

. In 2017, he was appointed a Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery. Stothard appears as a character briefly in the first scene of a one-level ''

Tomb Raider ''Tomb Raider'', also known as ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series created by British gaming company Core Design. Formerly owned by Eidos Interactive, th ...

'' expansion videogame made by

Core Design Core Design Limited (known as Rebellion (Derby) Ltd between 2006 and 2010) was a British video game developer based in Derby. Founded in May 1988 by former Gremlin Graphics employees, it originally bore the name Megabrite until rebranding as Co ...

in association with ''The Times''. The expansion is called Times Exclusive Level and was released in 2000.

Personal life

He is married to the biographer and critic Ruth Scurr. He has a son, Michael (born 1987), and a daughter, the novelist

Anna Stothard Anna Stothard (born 1983), is a British novelist, journalist scriptwriter, and the daughter of Sally Emerson and Sir Peter Stothard. Writing history Her first novel, ''Isabel and Rocco'', (), was published when she was 19. "Dazzling... remark ...

(born 1983) from a previous marriage to

Sally Emerson Sally Emerson is an English novelist, anthologist and travel writer. Education and career Emerson was educated at Wimbledon High School and St. Anne’s College, Oxford. Between school and university she was editorial assistant and writer on t ...

Honours

He was knighted for services to the newspaper industry in 2003. In 2013, he was awarded the President's Medal by the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

Bibliography

* ''Crassus: The First Tycoon'' (2022), * ''The Last Assassin: The Hunt for the Killers of Julius Caesar'' (2020), * ''The Senecans: Four Men and Margaret Thatcher'' (2016), * ''Alexandria: The Last Night of Cleopatra'' (2013), * ''On the Spartacus Road: A Spectacular Journey Through Ancient Italy'' (2010), * ''Thirty Days: An Inside Account of Tony Blair at War'' (2004),

Book reviews

References

External links

Debrett's People of Today
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stothard, Peter 1951 births Living people Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford British male journalists British newspaper editors People educated at Brentwood School, Essex The Times people Knights Bachelor Recipients of the President's Medal (British Academy) Presidents of the Classical Association