Tim Villiers Heald

FRSL The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the ...

(28 January 1944 – 20 November 2016) was a British author, biographer, journalist and public speaker."Tim Heald, writer – obituary"
''

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

''. 24 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.

Life and writings

Heald was born in

Dorchester, Dorset Dorchester ( ) is the county town of Dorset, England. It is situated between Poole and Bridport on the A35 trunk route. A historic market town, Dorchester is on the banks of the River Frome, Dorset, River Frome to the south of the Dorset Dow ...

, England, and educated at

Sherborne School Sherborne School is a full-boarding school for boys aged 13 to 18 located beside Sherborne Abbey in the Dorset town of Sherborne. The school has been in continuous operation on the same site for over 1,300 years. It was founded in 705 AD by Ald ...

, Dorset, and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

, gaining an MA in Modern History in 1965. He wrote over 30 published books, including official biographies of HRH

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

(''The Duke – a Portrait of Prince Philip'', 1991), Hodder & Stoughton), HRH The

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. ...

(''Princess Margaret – a Life Unravelled'' (2007), Orion Books) and cricket commentator Brian Johnston. Heald was also known for his mystery novels featuring Simon Bognor, special investigator, (10 titles), serialised by Thames TV, and more recently as creator of Dr Tudor Cornwall in a new crime trilogy published by Robert Hale Ltd: ''Death and the Visiting Fellow'' (2004), ''Death and the D'Urbervilles'' (2005), ''A Death on the Ocean Wave'' (2007). He subsequently returned to the newly knighted Simon Bognor and published two further novels ''Death in the Opening Chapter'' and ''Poison at the Pueblo'' with Crème de la Crime/ Severn House. As a journalist, Tim Heald wrote for '' Punch'', ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'', ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday 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 N ...

'' (Atticus column), ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...

'' (feature writer 1967–1972), ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' and ''

'', and was a freelance book reviewer and feature and travel writer for various other publications. As a speaker, he was often a guest on Cunard cruise ships the '' QE2'' and the Caronia. He was the author of ''Village Cricket'' (Little Brown, 2004), on which a Carlton TV series was based. Heald worked as an academic in creative writing at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

and the University of South Australia between 1997 and 2001. He was a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

. He was also a strong member of PEN International and chaired the Writers in Prison Committee. Tim Heald lived in Fowey,

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, for 15 years until 2011 but then moved to south Somerset, where his mother was born and where she and his father are buried.

Illness and death

Suffering from Parkinsonism and Lewy body dementia, Tim Heald died in Martock, Somerset 20 November 2016.

Bibliography

* ''It's a Dog's Life'' (1971) * ''Unbecoming Habits'' (1973) * ''Blue Blood Will Out'' (1974) * ''Deadline'' (1975) * ''Let Sleeping Dogs Die'' (1976) * ''The Making of Space 1999'' (1976) * ''Just Desserts'' (1977) * '' John Steed: An Authorized Biography Vol 1'' (1977) * ''HRH: The Man Who Will Be King'' (co-author with Mayo Mohs; 1979) * ''Caroline R'' (1980) - novel chronicling a life similar to that of Princess Diana * ''Murder at Moose Jaw'' (1981) * ''Masterstroke'' (1982) * ''Networks: Who We Know & How to Use Them'' (1983); US title: ''Old Boy Networks'' (1984) * ''Class Distinctions'' (1984) * ''Red Herrings'' (1985) * ''The Character of Cricket'' (1986) * ''Brought to Book'' (1988) * ''Business Unusual'' (1989) * ''The Rigby File'' (editor; 1989) * ''By Appointment: 150 Years of the Royal Warrant and its Holders'' (1989) * ''The Newest London Spy'' (editor; 1989) * ''My

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...

: A Celebration of the World's Greatest Cricket Ground'' (editor; 1990) * ''A Classic English Crime'' (editor; 1991) * ''The Duke: Portrait of Prince Philip'' (1991) * ''Honourable Estates: The English and their Country Houses'' (1992) * ''A Life of Love: The Life of Barbara Cartland'' (1994) * '' Denis Compton: The Authorized Biography of the Incomparable'' (1994) * '' Brian Johnston: The Authorised Biography'' (1995) * ''Beating Retreat: Hong Kong Under the Last Governor'' (1997) * ''Village Cricket'' (2004) * ''Death and the Visiting Fellow'' (2004) * ''Death and the D'Urbervilles'' (2005) * ''A Death on the Ocean Wave'' (2007) * ''

: A Life Unravelled'' (2007) * '' Jardine's Last Tour: India 1933-34'' (2011) * ''My Dear Hugh: The Collected Letters of Richard Cobb to

Hugh Trevor-Roper Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton, (15 January 1914 – 26 January 2003) was an English historian. He was Regius Professor of Modern History (Oxford), Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford. Trevor-Rope ...

and others'' (2011) * ''Death in the Opening Chapter'' (2011) * ''Poison at the Pueblo'' (2012) * ''Tomfoolery'' - edited work of Tom Baun compiled with his brother, Christopher

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heald, Tim 1944 births 2016 deaths Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford English biographers English male journalists 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English novelists Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature People educated at Sherborne School People from Dorchester, Dorset People from Fowey English male novelists Cricket writers 20th-century English male writers 21st-century English male writers British crime fiction writers British male biographers