https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=John_KeayJohn Keay - Revision history2026-07-31T08:25:22ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=John_Keay&diff=318572&oldid=prevUpdateBot at 17:42, 7 March 20222022-03-07T17:42:21Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{short description|British author}}<br />
{{about||the Scottish businessman and MP|John Seymour Keay}}<br />
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{{Infobox person<br />
| name = John Keay<br />
| image = <br />
| caption =<br />
| birth_date = 1941<br />
| birth_place = [[Barnstaple]], Devon, England<br />
| death_date =<br />
| death_place =<br />
| other_names =<br />
| known_for = Histories of colonial Asia<br />
| education = [[Oxford University]]<br />
| occupation = Writer and historian<br />
| relatives = [[Anna Keay]], [[Humphrey Atkins]], [[Simon Thurley]] <br />
| spouse = Julia Keay (died 2011)<br /> Amanda Douglas (2014–present)<br />
| footnotes =<br />
}}<br />
'''John Stanley Melville Keay''' [[FRGS]] 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 [[European ethnic groups|European]]s. 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He is known both for stylistic flair and meticulous research into archival [[primary source]]s, including centuries-old unpublished sources.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-3070700086/keay-john-1941-john.html|title=Keay, John 1941- (John Stanley Melville Keay) |work=[[Contemporary Authors]], New Revision Series |publisher=[[Encyclopedia.com]]|access-date=16 November 2018}}</ref><br />
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The author of some twenty-five 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. In 2019, he received an honorary doctorate, presented by [[Princess Anne]], from the [[University of the Highlands and Islands]] in Scotland.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uhi.ac.uk/en/media/news/top-writers-presented-with-honorary-degrees-.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126055947/https://www.uhi.ac.uk/en/media/news/top-writers-presented-with-honorary-degrees-.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2020-01-26|title=Media - News - Top writers presented with honorary degrees - University of the Highlands and Islands|date=26 January 2020}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/perth-kinross/991408/hold-perth-college-uhi-graduations-royal-approval-for-crime-writer-historian-and-much-missed-master-chef/|title=IN PICTURES: Princess Anne joins Perth UHI graduates on 'town and gown' walk|first=Jamie|last=Buchan}}</ref><br />
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''[[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" and his writing as "restrained yet powerful". He is a Fellow of the [[Royal Geographical Society]]. Keay lives in both [[Edinburgh]] and in [[Argyll]] in the [[West Highlands]] of [[Scotland]] and travels widely.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/5367|title=From the start|newspaper=The Economist|date=13 July 2000|access-date=16 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/jul/13/history.features1|title=Review: China: A History by John Keay|first=Peter|last=Preston | author-link = Peter Preston|date=12 July 2008|website=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=16 November 2018}}</ref><ref name="auto"/><br />
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==Life and career==<br />
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 [[Yorkshire]] before going on to read Modern History at [[Magdalen College, Oxford|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.<br />
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It was during his second stay in Kashmir that Keay decided upon writing as a career. From India, he sent unsolicited articles to many British magazines and newspapers and eventually 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]].<br />
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In 1971 he gave up his correspondent's job 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 (publishing house)|John Murray]]. [[Alexander Gardner (soldier)|Alexander Gardner]] (1785–1877), the American adventurer and mercenary employed by the [[Sikh Empire]], who is featured in Keay's 1977 and 1979 books, is the sole focus of his latest book, ''The Tartan Turban: In Search of Alexander Gardner'', released in 2017.<br />
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In the 1980s he worked for [[BBC Radio]] as a writer and presenter, and made several documentary series for [[BBC Radio 3]].<ref name="telegraphindia">{{cite news |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1051008/asp/weekend/story_5314480.asp |title=History in the making |access-date=6 February 2010 |work=The Telegraph|location=Calcutta, India |date=8 October 2005}}</ref> 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 [[Indian architecture|architecture]].<br />
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==Awards and recognition==<br />
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:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rlf.org.uk/fellowships/john-keay/|title=John Keay|publisher=[[Royal Literary Fund]]|access-date=16 November 2018}}</ref><br />
* Fellow ([[FRGS]]), [[Royal Geographical Society]], UK.<br />
* Sir [[Percy Sykes]] Memorial Medal of the [[Royal Society for Asian Affairs]], UK (2009).<br />
* Honorary Doctorate from the [[University of the Highlands and Islands]], Scotland (2019).<br />
* Fellow, [[Royal Conservatoire of Scotland]] (2013–14).<br />
* Fellow, [[University of Dundee]], Scotland (2010–12).<br />
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==Family==<br />
His late first wife Julia Keay, née Atkins (1946–2011), was also a successful writer and historian. She was the daughter of the politician [[Humphrey Atkins]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.annakeay.co.uk/biography.html|title=Dr Anna Keay - Biography|website=www.annakeay.co.uk|access-date=16 November 2018}}</ref> The historian [[Anna Keay]] (b. 1974) is the daughter and second child of John and Julia Keay.<ref name=lister>{{cite news|last1=Lister-Kaye|first1=Hermione|title=Anna Keay on India, motherhood and the Duke of Monmouth|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10892310/Anna-Keay-on-India-motherhood-and-the-Duke-of-Monmouth.html|access-date=6 November 2014|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=13 June 2014}}</ref> John Keay also has three other children with Julia Keay: Alexander (b. 1973), Nell (b. 1977) and Samuel (b. 1979). The architectural historian [[Simon Thurley]] is his son-in-law. In 2014 Keay married Amanda Douglas.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.johnkeay.com/biography|title=Biography|work=John Keay Author|access-date=7 October 2020}}</ref> Among his relatives, Keay had an uncle who was an [[Indian Civil Service]] officer in [[British India]].<br />
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==Bibliography==<br />
*''Into India'' ([[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]] 1973), {{ISBN|0-7195-2918-2}}<br />
*''When Men and Mountains Meet: The Explorers of the Western Himalayas, 1820–75'' (John Murray 1977), {{ISBN|0-7195-3334-1}}<br />
*''The [[Gilgit]] Game: The Explorers of the Western Himalayas, 1865–95'' (John Murray 1979), {{ISBN|0-7195-3569-7}}<br />
*''India Discovered: The Achievement of the [[British Raj]]'' (Windward 1981), {{ISBN|0-7112-0047-5}}<br />
*''Eccentric Travellers'' (John Murray 1982), {{ISBN|0-7195-3868-8}}<br />
*''Highland Drove'' (John Murray 1984), {{ISBN|0-7195-4105-0}}<br />
*''Explorers Extraordinary'' (John Murray 1985), {{ISBN|0-7195-4249-9}}<br />
*''The [[Royal Geographical Society]] History of World Exploration'' ([[Hamlyn (publishers)|Hamlyn]] 1991), {{ISBN|0-600-56819-9}} (ed.)<br />
*''The Honourable Company: A History of the [[English East India Company]]'' ([[HarperCollins]] 1991), {{ISBN|0-00-217515-0}}<br />
*''The Robinson Book of Exploration'' (Robinson 1993), {{ISBN|1-85487-240-0}} (ed.)<br />
*''[[Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland]]'' (HarperCollins 1994), {{ISBN|0-00-255082-2}} (ed. with Julia Keay)<br />
*''Indonesia: From [[Sabang, Indonesia|Sabang]] to [[Merauke]]'' ([[Boxtree Ltd]] 1995), {{ISBN|1-85283-545-1}}<br />
*''Last Post: The End of Empire in the Far East'' (John Murray 1997), {{ISBN|0-7195-5346-6}}<br />
* {{Cite book |title=India: A History |year=2000 |publisher=[[Grove Press]] |location= New York City |isbn=0-8021-3797-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3aeQqmcXBhoC}}<br />
*''The Great Arc: The Dramatic Tale of How India Was Mapped and [[Everest]] Was Named'' (HarperCollins 2000), {{ISBN|0-00-257062-9}}<br />
*''Sowing the Wind: The Seeds of Conflict in the Middle East'' (John Murray 2003), {{ISBN|0-7195-5583-3}}<br />
*''The [[Spice Route]]: A History'' (John Murray 2005), {{ISBN|0-7195-6198-1}}<br />
*''Mad About the Mekong: Exploration and Empire in South East Asia'' (HarperCollins 2005), {{ISBN|0-00-711113-4}}<br />
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=YfKOGTcHvncC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false ''China: A History''] (HarperCollins 2008), {{ISBN|978-0-00-722177-6}}<br />
*''[[The London Encyclopaedia]]'', [[Ben Weinreb]] & [[Christopher Hibbert]], Julia & John Keay with original photography by Matthew Weinreb, [[Macmillan Publishers]], 3rd Revised edition 2008, {{ISBN|978-1-4050-4924-5}}<br />
*''The Tartan Turban: In Search of Alexander Gardner'', (Kashi House 2017) {{ISBN|978-1911271000}}.<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
* [http://www.johnkeay.com Official website]<br />
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[[Category:English historians]]<br />
[[Category:English male journalists]]<br />
[[Category:People educated at Ampleforth College]]<br />
[[Category:English radio personalities]]<br />
[[Category:People from Barnstaple]]<br />
[[Category:Anglo-Scots]]<br />
[[Category:1941 births]]<br />
[[Category:Living people]]<br />
[[Category:English male non-fiction writers]]<br />
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society]]</div>UpdateBot