John Keay

John Keay
Born 1941
Barnstaple, Devon, England
Residence Argyll, Scotland
Occupation Writer and historian
Known for Histories of colonial Asia
Spouse(s) Julia Keay (d. 2011)
Relatives Anna Keay, Humphrey Atkins, Simon Thurley

John Stanley Melville Keay FRGS, widely known as John Keay, (pronounced 'Kay') is a British historian, journalist, radio presenter and lecturer specialising in popular histories of India, the Far East and China, often with a particular focus on their colonisation and exploration by Europeans. In particular, he is widely seen as a pre-eminent historian of British India. He is known both for stylistic flair and meticulous research into archival primary sources, including centuries-old unpublished sources.[1]

The author of over twenty books, he also writes regularly for a number of prominent publications in Britain and Asia. He began his career with The Economist. He has received several major honours including the Sir Percy Sykes Memorial Medal. The Economist has called him "a gifted non-academic historian", the Yorkshire Post has called him "one of our most outstanding historians", The Independent has called his writing "exquisite" and The Guardian has described his historical analysis as "forensic". He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Keay lives in Argyll in the West Highlands of Scotland and travels widely.[2][3]

Life and career

John Keay was born on 18 September 1941 in Barnstaple, Devon, England, to parents of Scottish origin. His father Stanley Walter Keay (1902-72) was a master mariner and his mother Florence Jessie née Keeping (1905-92) was a housewife. He studied at Ampleforth College in York before going on to read Modern History at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he earned high honours. Among his teachers at Oxford were the historian A. J. P. Taylor and the future playwright Alan Bennett. In 1965 he visited India for the first time. He went to Kashmir for a fortnight's trout-fishing and liked it so much that he returned the following year, this time for six months. It was during his second stay in Kashmir that Keay decided upon writing as a career. He joined the staff of The Economist (1965-71) and returned to India often as its political correspondent. He also started contributing stories to BBC Radio.

In 1971 he gave up his correspondent's job in order to write his first book, Into India, which was published in 1973. Keay followed it with two volumes about the European exploration of the Western Himalayas in the 19th century: When Men and Mountains Meet (1977) and The Gilgit Game (1979). These two books were later combined into a single-volume paperback by John Murray.

In the 1980s he worked for BBC Radio as a writer and presenter, and made several documentary series for BBC Radio 3.[4] He also made programmes for BBC Radio 4. During this time he wrote India Discovered, the story of how British colonialists came to find out about the great artefacts of Indian culture and architecture.

Awards and Recognition

John Keay's major books have all received strong positive reviews in leading publications in the UK, US, Asia and elsewhere. The professional recognition he has received has included the following:[5]

Family

His late wife Julia Keay, née Atkins (1946-2011), was also a successful writer and historian. She was the daughter of the politician Humphrey Atkins[6] The historian Anna Keay is the daughter and second child of John and Julia Keay[7] John Keay also has three other children with Julia Keay, namely Alexander (b. 1973), Nell (b. 1977) and Samuel (b. 1979). The architectural historian Simon Thurley is his son-in-law.[8]

Bibliography

977), ISBN 0-7195-3334-1

References

  1. ↑ http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-3070700086/keay-john-1941-john.html
  2. ↑ http://www.economist.com/node/5367
  3. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/jul/13/history.features1
  4. ↑ "History in the making". telegraphindia.com. Calcutta, India. 2005-10-08. Retrieved 2010-02-06.
  5. ↑ https://www.rlf.org.uk/fellowships/john-keay/
  6. ↑ Dr Anna Keay - Biography
  7. ↑ Lister-Kaye, Hermione (13 June 2014). "Anna Keay on India, motherhood and the Duke of Monmouth". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  8. ↑ http://www.thepeerage.com/p58099.htm#i580982

External links

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