Paul Johnson (born on November 2, 1928 in Lancashire, England) is a British Roman Catholic conservative historian, journalist and author. He was educated at Stowe and Magdalen College, Oxford.

Life and Career

Originally on the left, he worked on the staff of the Paris Realitiès magazine in the early 1950s, while also serving as the New Statesman's Paris correspondent. Moving back to London in 1955, he joined the Statesman's staff; he was leader writer, deputy editor and then editor of the Statesman from 1965 to 1970.

After his political move rightwards, he edited The Spectator, for which he still contributes a weekly column called "And Another Thing". In addition he is a regular contributor to The Daily Telegraph, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and other publications. He wrote a column in the Daily Mail for many years; his description of the (former) chief executive of Channel 4 television Michael Grade, as "Britain's pornographer-in-chief" (because of the channel's sexually explicit programming) is sill much quoted.

Johnson is regularly mocked in the liberal British press (and Private Eye) for what his critics regard as inconsistencies and changes of opinion. Once a speechwriter for British Premier Margaret Thatcher, he now admires Tony Blair (though hardly anyone else in New Labour). He does not see himself as being inconsistent, arguing that he has admired individuals more than political philosophies. In his Spectator column he defended convicted perjurer and friend Jonathan Aitken and has openly expressed admiration for General Franco and General Pinochet.

He is married to the psychotherapist Marigold Hunt. They have two sons, the literary journalist Daniel Johnson and Luke Johnson, the businessman and chairman of (ironically) Channel 4 Television, and a daughter Sophie, who has worked as a television scriptwriter.

Bibliography

Johnson's books are listed by subject or type. The country of publication is the UK, unless stated otherwise

Anthologies, polemics & contemporary history

1957 Conviction MacGibbon & Kee (contributor, with Peter Abel-Smith, Nigel Calder, Richard Hoggart, Mervyn Jones, Norman Mackenzie, Peter Marris, Iris Murdoch Peter Shore, Hugh Thomas, Peter Townsend & Raymond Williams)

1957 The Suez War MacGibbon & Kee

1958 Journey Into Chaos MacGibbon & Kee [Western Policy in the Middle East]

1971 Statesmen And Nations Sidgwick & Jackson [An anthology of New Statesman essays from the 1950s and 1960s. Often surprisingly mild in tone given Johnson's later development.]

1977 Enemies of Society Weidenfeld & Nicholson

1980 The Recovery of Freedom (Mainstream Series) Basil Blackwell

1981 The Best of Everything - Animals, Business, Drink, Travel, Food, Literature, Medicine, Playtime, Politics, Theatre, Young World, Art, Communications, Law and Crime, Films, Pop Culture, Sport, Women's Fashion, Men's Fashion, Music, Military (ed by William Davis) - contributor

1985 The Pick of Paul Johnson Harrap

1986 The Oxford Book Of Political Anecdotes (2nd ed 1991) Oxford University Press

1989 Intellectuals Weidenfeld & Nicholson

1994 The Quotable Paul Johnson A Topical Compilation of His Wit, Wisdom and Satire (George J. Marlin, Richard P. Rabatin, Heather S. Richardson (Editors)) 1994 Noonday Press/1996 Atlantic Books(US)

1994 Wake Up Britain - a Latter-day Pamphlet Weidenfeld & Nicholson

1996 To Hell with Picasso & Other Essays: Selected Pieces from “The Spectator” Weidenfeld & Nicholson

1998 The Body Politic New English Library

Art

1993 Gerald Laing : Portraits Thomas Gibson Fine Art Ltd (with Gerald Laing & David Mellor MP)

1999 Julian Barrow's London Fine Art Society

2003 Art: A New History Weidenfeld & Nicholson

History

1972 The Offshore Islanders: England's People from Roman Occupation to the Present/to European Entry [Offshore Islanders: A History of the English People [1998ed] Weidenfeld & Nicholson]

1974 Elizabeth: a Study in Power and Intellect Weidenfeld & Nicholson

1974 The Life and Times of Edward III Weidenfeld & Nicholson

1976 Civilizations of the Holy Land Weidenfeld & Nicholson

1978 The Civilization of Ancient Egypt Weidenfeld & Nicholson

1981 Ireland: A Concise History from the Twelfth Century to the Present Day [as ...Land of Troubles 1980 Eyre Methuen] Granada

1984 Modern Times: A History of the World from the 1920s to the 1980s Weidenfeld & Nicholson [later, ...Present Time and ...Year 2000 2005 ed] Weidenfeld & Nicholson

1985 History of the English People Weidenfeld & Nicholson [Offshore Islanders reprint?]

1987 Gold Fields A Centenary Portrait Weidenfeld & Nicholson

1987 [2001ed] The History of the Jews Weidenfeld & Nicholson

1991 The Birth of the Modern: World Society 1815-1830 Weidenfeld & Nicholson

1996 The Holocaust Phoenix [pages 482 to 517 of A History of the Jews]

1997 A History of the American People Weidenfeld & Nicholson

2002 The Renaissance [: A Short History *] Weidenfeld & Nicholson/*Random House (USA)

2002 Napoleon (Lives S.) Weidenfeld & Nicholson [2003 Phoenix pbk]

Memoir

2004 The Vanished Landscape: A 1930s Childhood in the Potteries Weidenfeld & Nicholson

Novels

1959 Left of Centre MacGibbon & Kee ["Left Of Centre describes the meeting of a Complacent Young Man with an Angry Old City"]

1964 Merrie England MacGibbon & Kee

Religion

1975 Pope John XXIII Hutchinson

1977 A History of Christianity Weidenfeld & Nicholson /1976 Simon & Schuster /Atheneum (USA)

1982 Pope John Paul II And The Catholic Restoration St Martins Press

1996 The Quest for God: A Personal Pilgrimage Weidenfeld & Nicholson/HarperCollins (USA)

1997 The Papacy Weidenfeld & Nicholson

Travel

1973 The Highland Jaunt Collins (with George Gale)

1974 A Place in History: Places & Buildings Of British History Omega [Thames TV (UK) tie-in]

1978 National Trust Book of British Castles Granada Paperback [1992 Weidenfeld ed as Castles Of England, Scotland And Wales]

1980 British Cathedrals Weidenfeld & Nicholson

1984 The Aerofilms Book of London from the Air Weidenfeld & Nicholson