Julian Rathbone

1935–2008

English novelist, born in Blackheath, London, and a great-nephew of the actor Basil Rathbone. He studied at Magdalene College, Cambridge, then spent three years teaching English in Turkey, where several of his early novels are set. His first book, Diamonds Bid, appeared in 1967. His output included crime fiction, eco-thrillers and historical novels such as The Last English King (1997). King Fisher Lives was shortlisted for the 1976 Booker Prize. He died in February 2008. Joseph, the picaresque life story of a self-styled viscount caught up in the Napoleonic Wars, was shortlisted for the 1979 Booker Prize.

Timeline of Julian Rathbone’s life

Works

Prizes