Matthew Parker (born 1970)[1] is an English author of historical non-fiction books whose work has covered topics including European colonialism, World War II, and the construction of the Panama Canal.
Matthew Parker | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1970 (age 55–56) |
| Occupation | Author |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford University |
| Genre | Historical non-fiction |
| Notable works | Monte Cassino Panama Fever The Sugar Barons |
| Children | 3 |
| Website | |
| Matthew Parker | |
Early life and education
editParker was born in El Salvador to British parents and spent parts of his childhood in Great Britain, Norway and Barbados.[1] He was educated at Yardley Court, Tonbridge School and Balliol College, Oxford, where he earned a degree in English.[1]
Writing career
editParker's first two books were about World War II. The Battle of Britain, July–October 1940: An Oral History of Britain's Finest Hour was published in 2000,[2] and Monte Cassino: The Story of the Hardest-Fought Battle in World War II came out in 2003. Of the latter, Publishers Weekly said: "Parker details, with the aid of hundreds of survivor interviews and war diaries, the Allied siege of the monastery at Monte Cassino, a mountainous fiefdom massively fortified....With command and ground-level detail that buffs will savor, Parker goes over what seems like every inch of the multinational force's campaign."[3]
His book Panama Fever: The Epic Story of One of the Greatest Human Achievements of All Time-- the Building of the Panama Canal (retitled Hell's Gorge: The Battle to Build the Panama Canal for the UK paperback edition) came out in 2007. Allan Massie reviewed it for The Telegraph: "His narrative is compelling, his ability to weave a pattern from the topics he has to cover quite remarkable...There isn't a dull page, and if this book isn't a candidate for all the non-fiction prizes going, I shall be disappointed."[4]
In 2011, he published The Sugar Barons: Family, Corruption, Empire and War in the West Indies. It was named a Book of the Year by The Economist [5] and John Gimlette of The Spectator called it "compelling, wonderful history. The Sugar Barons is an exemplary book; history as it should be written."[6]
Parker next turned to biography, with an account of the life of James Bond author Ian Fleming during his years living in Jamaica, titled Goldeneye: Where Bond Was Born: Ian Fleming's Jamaica (2014). It was nominated for an Edgar Award in 2016.[7]
In 2015, his first look at a period of history before the modern era was published. Willoughbyland: England's Lost Colony is the story of Lord Willoughby's short-lived 17th-century colony in what is now Suriname. John Gimlette reviewed it for The Spectator: "A miniature masterpiece...this is a truly extraordinary tale and, in Parker's hands, it's beautifully told. With great wit and scholarship he reveals — just for a moment — a cruel and curious world, before it vanishes again beneath the trees."[8]
Personal life
editParker lives in London with his wife and three children.[9]
He is a bowler on the Authors XI amateur cricket team, which is composed of British writers, and he contributed a chapter to the team's book about their first season playing together, The Authors XI: A Season of English Cricket from Hackney to Hambledon (Bloomsbury, 2013).[10]
Books
edit- The Battle of Britain, July–October 1940: An Oral History of Britain's Finest Hour (London: Headline Book Publishing, 2000), ISBN 978-0747234500
- Monte Cassino: The Story of the Hardest-Fought Battle in World War II (London: Headline Book Publishing, 2003; Doubleday Books, 2004), ISBN 978-0385509855
- Panama Fever: The Epic Story of One of the Greatest Human Achievements of All Time-- the Building of the Panama Canal (Doubleday Books, 2007), ISBN 978-0385515344
- The Sugar Barons: Family, Corruption, Empire and War in the West Indies (Hutchinson, 2011), ISBN 978-0091925833
- Goldeneye: Where Bond Was Born-- Ian Fleming's Jamaica (Pegasus Books, 2014), ISBN 978-1605986869
- Willoughbyland: England's Lost Colony (Hutchinson, 2015), ISBN 978-0091954093
- One Fine Day: Britain's Empire on the Brink (Abacus, 2023), ISBN 978-1408708583
References
edit- 1 2 3 "Exclusive interview with Matthew Parker, author of 'Goldeneye: Where Bond Was Born'". Artistic Licence Renewed. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
- ↑ "The Battle of Britain : July-October, 1940 : an oral history of Britain's "finest hour" / Matthew Parker (library catalog entry)". British Library. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ↑ "Monte Cassino: The Hardest-Fought Battle of World War II". Publishers Weekly. 12 April 2004. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- ↑ Massie, Allan (11 March 2007). "Skulduggery between the seas". The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- ↑ "Page-turners". The Economist. 10 December 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- ↑ Gimlette, John (14 May 2011). "The Mark of Cane". The Spectator. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- ↑ "2014 Edgar Allan Poe Awards Nominees Press Release" (PDF). Mystery Writers of America. January 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
- ↑ Gimlette, John (August 2015). "The strange history of Willoughbyland, modern-day Suriname". The Spectator. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- ↑ "Matthew Parker". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
- ↑ Authors Cricket Club (2013). The Authors XI: A Season of English Cricket from Hackney to Hambledon. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-4088-4045-0.