James Owen (British author)
Encyclopedia
Biography
Owen was born in Holland ParkHolland Park
Holland Park is a district and a public park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in west central London, England.Holland Park has a reputation as an affluent and fashionable area, known for attractive large Victorian townhouses, and high-class shopping and restaurants...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and was educated at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and University College, Oxford
University College, Oxford
.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...
. After a brief period as a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
, he worked for The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
newspaper as a journalist from 1995 until 2001. In 2004, with Guy Walters
Guy Walters
Guy Walters is a British author and journalist.-Life and career:Guy Walters was born in Kensington, London. A descendant of Richard Harris Barham and Edward Augustus Bond, he was educated at Cheam School, Eton College, Westfield College, University of London , and is studying for a PhD in history...
, he edited The Voice of War, an anthology of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
memoirs, diaries and letters.
In 2005, he published A Serpent in Eden, an investigation of the unsolved murder in The Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
in 1943 of Sir Harry Oakes. Shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association
Crime Writers' Association
The Crime Writers Association is a writers' association in the United Kingdom. Founded by John Creasey in 1953, it is currently chaired by Peter James and claims 450+ members....
Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction
CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction
The CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction is a British literary award established in 1978 by the Crime Writers' Association, who have awarded the Gold Dagger fiction award since 1955....
, this was filmed as a drama documentary, entitled Murder in Paradise, for the UK's Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
and broadcast in December 2006. That year, Owen also published Nuremberg: Evil On Trial, a re-examination on its 60th anniversary of the case conducted against the leading Nazis after the Second World War.
His most recent publication, in 2010, is Danger UXB, which tells the story of the early days of Bomb Disposal
Bomb disposal
Bomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
during the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
and The Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
through the experiences of many of those involved in the work, including Bertram Stuart Trevelyan Archer
Bertram Stuart Trevelyan Archer
Colonel Bertram Stuart Trevelyan Archer GC OBE ERD is the oldest living recipient of the George Cross, the highest British medal for gallantry not in the face of the enemy.-Award of George Cross:...
and Charles Howard, 20th Earl of Suffolk
Charles Howard, 20th Earl of Suffolk
Charles Henry George Howard, 20th Earl of Suffolk, 13th Earl of Berkshire, GC was an English bomb disposal expert who was also an earl in the Peerage of England, belonging to the ancient Howard family. He was styled Viscount Andover until 1917...
.
Many of Owen's books seek to overturn long-held ideas and conventional wisdom by favouring the forensic examination of primary sources over reliance on secondary ones. A Serpent in Eden rebuts the theory advanced by other writers that the Duke of Windsor
Duke of Windsor
The title Duke of Windsor was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1937 for Prince Edward, the former King Edward VIII, following his abdication in December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle, a residence of English monarchs since the Norman Conquest, is...
attempted to influence the outcome of the investigation into the murder of Sir Harry Oakes. Of Nuremberg: Evil On Trial, Marcel Berlins
Marcel Berlins
Marcel Berlins is a lawyer, legal commentator, broadcaster, and columnist. He writes for British newspapers The Guardian and The Times, presented BBC Radio 4's legal programme Law in Action for 15 years and is currently a Visiting Professor at City University London in the department.He was born...
wrote that Owen had showed that it was not the fair and just trial usually claimed, while in Danger UXB Owen cast doubt on the supposed circumstances surrounding the saving of St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
by Robert Davies (GC)
Robert Davies (GC)
Lieutenant Robert Davies distinguished himself during the Second World War with the Royal Engineers and was awarded the George Cross for the heroism he displayed in defusing a bomb which threatened to destroy St Paul's Cathedral on September 12, 1940.Davies was born in Newlyn, Cornwall, the son...
and the subsequent award to him of the first George Cross
George Cross
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
.
Owen is a trustee of the London Library
London Library
The London Library is the world's largest independent lending library, and the UK's leading literary institution. It is located in the City of Westminster, London, England, United Kingdom....
.