David Hughes was an English novelist. His best known work included The Pork Butcher (Schocken, 1985) and But for Bunter, published as The Joke of the Century (Taplinger, 1986) in the United States.

Born in Alton, Hampshire, He went to school at Eggar's Grammar School, Alton, and King's College School, Wimbledon. His father, Fielden Hughes, was headmaster at another Wimbledon school and also wrote a number of novels.

He married the Swedish actress Mai Zetterling

Mai Zetterling

-Early life:Zetterling was born in Västerås, Västmanland, Sweden to a working class family. She started her career as an actress by the age of seventeen at Dramaten, the Swedish national theater, and appeared in war-era film starting in her teens.-Career:...

 in 1958 and collaborated with her on a number of films and books.

They were divorced in 1976 and he remarried in 1980.

His later books included a memoir of his friend Gerald Durrell

Gerald Durrell

Gerald "Gerry" Malcolm Durrell, OBE was a naturalist, zookeeper, conservationist, author and television presenter...

, called Himself and Other Animals, published in 1997.

He won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis

Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis

The Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's literature. It is Germany's only state-funded literary award. In the past, authors from many countries...

.

Novels

• "A Feeling In The Air" / US "Man Off Beat" (1957)
• "Sealed With a Loving Kiss" (1959)
• "The Horsehair Sofa" (1961)
• "The Major" (1964)
• "The Man Who Invented Tomorrow" (1968), about H. G. Wells
  H. G. Wells
  Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
  
  
• "Memories of Dying" (1976)
• "A Genoese Fancy" (1979)
• "The Imperial German Dinner Service
  The Imperial German Dinner Service
  The Imperial German Dinner Service is a 1983 novel by British writer David Hughes, republished by Paladin in 1987.-Outline:The narrator, Roland Patcham, by his own introduction a “redundant… spoilt, angry, bored and aimless reporter”, is losing his younger wife Sophie to her lover, the Director of...
  
  " (1983)
• "The Pork Butcher
  The Pork Butcher
  The Pork Butcher is a novel by English writer David Hughes, first published in 1984 by Constable & Co, and winner of the 1985 WH Smith Literary Award.-Outline:...
  
  " (1984) – filmed as Souvenir
  Souvenir (1989 film)
  Souvenir is a 1989 British drama film directed by Geoffrey Reeve and starring Christopher Plummer, Catherine Hicks and Michael Lonsdale. It was based on the novel The Pork Butcher by David Hughes...
  
   (1989)
• "But for Bunter" / US "The Joke of the Century" (1986)
• "The Little Book
  The Little Book
  The Little Book could refer to:1) The Little Book by English writer David Hughes, the last novel by that writer. It was originally published by Hutchinson in 1996...
  
  " (1996)

Screenplays

(with Mai Zetterling

Mai Zetterling

-Early life:Zetterling was born in Västerås, Västmanland, Sweden to a working class family. She started her career as an actress by the age of seventeen at Dramaten, the Swedish national theater, and appeared in war-era film starting in her teens.-Career:...

):

• Loving Couples
  Loving Couples (1964 film)
  Loving Couples is a 1964 Swedish drama film directed by Mai Zetterling. It was entered into the 1965 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Harriet Andersson - Agda Frideborg* Gunnel Lindblom - Adele Holmström - née Silfverstjerna* Gio Petré - Angela von Pahlen...
  
  (1964)
• Night Games (1966)
• Doctor Glas
  Doctor Glas (film)
  Doctor Glas is a 1968 Danish drama film directed by Mai Zetterling, based on the novel of the same name. It was listed to compete at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival, but the festival was cancelled due to the events of May 1968 in France.-Cast:...
  
  (1967)
• The Girls
  The Girls (film)
  -Cast:* Bibi Andersson as Liz* Harriet Andersson as Marianne* Gunnel Lindblom as Gunilla* Gunnar Björnstrand as Hugo* Erland Josephson as Carl* Frank Sundström as the doctor* Åke Lindström as Bengt* Stig Engström as Thommy* Ulf Palme as director-Release:...
  
  (1968)

Other

• "A Study of J.B. Priestley" (1958)
• "The Road to Stockholm" (1964) a travel book
• "The Seven Ages of England" (1967)
• "The Rosewater Revolution" (1971), a socio-cultural analysis
• "Himself and Other Animals" (1997), a memoir of his friend Gerald Durrell
  Gerald Durrell
  Gerald "Gerry" Malcolm Durrell, OBE was a naturalist, zookeeper, conservationist, author and television presenter...
  
  
• "The Lent Jewels" (2002), a biography of A C Tait, a 19th-century Archbishop of Canterbury
  Archbishop of Canterbury
  The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
  
  
• "The Hack's Tale" (2004), a search for the origins of journalism