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Julia Jones (writer)

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Julia Frances Jones BEM
Julia Jones in 2009
Born1954 (age 69–70)
Occupation(s)Editor, publisher, writer
Years active1986–present
Spouse(s)Chris Thorogood (divorced)
Francis Wheen (m. 2019)
Websitegolden-duck.co.uk/julia-jones

Julia Jones, formerly also known as Julia Thorogood,[1] is an English writer, editor, book publisher and patient advocate.

Early life

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Julia Jones was born in Woodbridge, Suffolk in 1954.[2] When she was three years old, her father George Jones bought the wooden sailing ketch Peter Duck, a yacht originally commissioned and owned by children's novelist Arthur Ransome and named for a character in one of his novels.[3] This nautical connection with Ransome, along with numerous pony books, helped to shape a lifelong enthusiasm for books.

Writer and publisher

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Jones opened a bookshop in Ingatestone, Essex, which she then developed into a small-scale local publishing business, reissuing a Second World War autobiography by crime writer Margery Allingham.[2] Jones's interest in the Allingham family grew; she researched Margery Allingham's life and wrote a biography published in 1991. Jones has also studied the fiction writing of Margery Allingham's father, Herbert Allingham.[2]

In 2006, while working on a PhD on Herbert Allingham, Jones decided to become a writer of adventure stories like the Swallows and Amazons series of Arthur Ransome she had read as a child.[2][3] The Salt-Stained Book, the first part of a planned sailing adventure trilogy, was released in June 2011.[4] Jones hoped the trilogy would inspire a new generation of children to mess about in boats.[3]

Dementia-care advocacy

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In November 2014, Jones and co-founder Nicci Gerrard set up an advocacy group, John's Campaign, to promote extended visiting rights for family carers of patients with dementia in hospitals in the United Kingdom.[5] Jones was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the 2023 King's Birthday honours "For Services to People with Dementia".[6]

Personal life

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Jones has five children.[7] She was previously married to Chris Thorogood; in 2019 she married Francis Wheen, a writer, journalist and broadcaster who was deputy editor of Private Eye.[8]

Bibliography

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Books by Julia Jones:[9]

  • Uncommon Courage: The yachtsmen volunteers of World War Two ISBN 978-1472987105 1 January 2021 (shortlisted for the 2022 Maritime Foundation's Mountbatten Award for Best Book)[10]
  • (edited/published) The Cruise of Naromis: August in the Baltic 1939 by G. A. Jones ISBN 978-1899262335 5 January 2017
  • Margery Allingham & Julia Jones Beloved Old Age and What To Do About It: Margery Allingham's 'The Relay' handed on to Julia Jones ISBN 978-1899262298, 30 June 2016
  • Fifty Years in the Fiction Factory: The working life of Herbert Allingham ISBN 978-1899262076 19 September 2012
  • Strong Winds series:
  • (edited/published) Cheapjack. Being the True History of a Young Man's Adventures as a Fortune Teller, Grafter, Knocker-Worker, and Mounted Pitcher on the Market-Places and Fair-grounds of a Modern But Still Romantic England by Philip Allingham, ISBN 978-1899262021 republished 1 July 2010
  • The Adventures of Margery Allingham ISBN 978-1899262014 2 March 2009
  • (writing as Julia Thorogood) Margery Allingham: A Biography, ISBN 978-0434779062 14 October 1991
  • (published) The Oaken Heart: The Story of an English Village at War, by Margery Allingham, ISBN 978-1899262038 re-issued 1988 and 3 March 2011
  • (edited/published, as Julia Thorogood) Yesterday's Heroes, by June Jones, ISBN 978-0951085615 1 January 1986
  • (edited/published, as Julia Thorogood, with June Jones) When I Was a Child...: From the Memories of Essex People Three Score Years and Ten, ISBN 978-0951085608 1985

References

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  1. ^ Julia Jones page on debbiesidea.com website, viewed 8 July 2011
  2. ^ a b c d biography page on Julia Jones' personal website, golden-duck.co.uk, viewed 8 July 2011
  3. ^ a b c Setting sail on Arthur Ransome's boat on The Daily Telegraph website, viewed 13 October 2012
  4. ^ The Salt-stained Book page on publisher's website, viewed 8 July 2011
  5. ^ McVeigh, Tracy (13 March 2016). "Observer-backed John's Campaign wins support from NHS". The Observer. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  6. ^ "No. 64082". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2023. p. B32.
  7. ^ Setting sail on Arthur Ransome's boat
  8. ^ Nicholas Wroe "A life in writing", The Guardian, 29 August 2009
  9. ^ Julia Jones page on Amazon.com, viewed 8 July 2011 and on 17 August 2024
  10. ^ "Maritime Media Awards 2022 shortlist announced". Maritime Foundation. 26 April 2023. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
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