Francis Beckett

Francis Beckett is an author, journalist, broadcaster, playwright and contemporary historian. His seventeen books include biographies of four Prime Ministers, as well as of Aneurin Bevan and Laurence Olivier, and he was editor of a series of 20 biographies, Prime Ministers of the Twentieth Century. They also include What Did the Baby Boomers Ever Do For Us (Biteback, 2010). His latest play The London Spring enjoyed a three week run early in 2012. Money Makes You Happy (2008) and The Right Honourable Lady (2009), after successful London fringe runs, have now been published by Samuel French. The Sons of Catholic Gentlemen won the Independent Radio Drama Productions award. Claim and Shame, a specially commissioned play about the MPs’ expenses scandal, produced at the Theatre 503. Francis Beckett is the editor of Third Age Matters, a national magazine published by the University of the Third Age and writes for national newspapers and magazine. He graduated in history and philosophy from the University of Keele in 1969 and was one member of that year’s-two-man debating team sent to tour the USA. He has been president of the National Union of Journalists and worked on two national newspapers; was head of press and publications at the National Union of Students, a trade union head of communications, and a Labour Party press officer; ran his own PR consultancy; and has edited about a dozen magazines and written for many more. He was an organiser for the housing charity Shelter and has taught in schools, adult education, further education and a university (teaching the Journalism MA at the University of Westminster.)