Peter Alexander Haining (2 April 1940 – 19 November 2007) was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
journalistA journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, author and
anthologistAn anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
who lived and worked in
SuffolkSuffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. Born in
EnfieldThe London Borough of Enfield is the most northerly London borough and forms part of Outer London. It borders the London Boroughs of Barnet, Haringey and Waltham Forest...
,
MiddlesexMiddlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, he began his career as a reporter in Essex and then moved to London where he worked on a trade magazine before joining the publishing house of
New English LibraryThe New English Library was a United Kingdom book publishing company, which became an imprint of Hodder Headline.- History :New English Library was created in 1961 by the Times Mirror Company of Los Angeles, with the takeover of two small British paperback companies, Ace Books Ltd and Four Square...
.
Haining achieved the position of Editorial Director before becoming a full time writer in the early Seventies. He edited a large number of anthologies, predominantly of horror and fantasy short stories, wrote non-fiction books on a variety of topics from the
Channel TunnelThe Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
to
Sweeney ToddSweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as then antagonist of the Victorian penny dreadful The String of Pearls and he was later introduced as an antihero in the broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and its film adaptation...
and also used the
pen namesA pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
"Ric Alexander" and "Richard Peyton" on a number of crime story anthologies. In the Seventies he wrote three novels, including
The Hero (1973), which was optioned for filming.
In two controversial books, Haining argued that Sweeney Todd was a real historical figure who committed his crimes around 1800, was tried in December 1801, and was hanged in January 1802. However, other researchers who have tried to verify his citations find nothing in these sources to back Haining's claims. A check of the website
Old BaileyThe Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
at for "Associated Records 1674-1834" for an
alleged trial in December 1801 and hanging of Sweeney Todd for January 1802 show no reference; in fact the only murder trial for this period is that of a Governor/Lt Col. Joseph Wall who was hanged 28 January 1802 for killing a Benjamin Armstrong 10 July 1782 in "Goree" Africa and the discharge of a Humphrey White in January 1802. Strong reservations have also been expressed regarding the reliability of another of Haining's influential non-fiction works,
The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled JackSpring-heeled Jack is a character in English folklore of the Victorian era who was known for his startling jumps. The first claimed sighting of Spring-heeled Jack was in 1837. Later sightings were reported all over England and were especially prevalent in suburban London, the Midlands and...
.
He wrote several reference books on
Doctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, including the 20th anniversary special
Doctor Who: A Celebration Two Decades Through Time and Space (1983), and also wrote the definitive study of
Sherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
on the screen,
The Television Sherlock Holmes (1991) and several other television tie-ins featuring famous literary characters, including
MaigretJules Maigret, Maigret to most people, including his wife, is a fictional police detective, actually a commissaire or commissioner of the Paris "Brigade Criminelle" , created by writer Georges Simenon.Seventy-five novels and twenty-eight short stories about Maigret were published between 1931 and...
, Poirot,
Dr. FinlayDr. Finlay is a fictional character, the hero of a series of stories by Scottish author A. J. Cronin.-History:The stories were used as the basis for the long-running BBC television programme, Dr. Finlay's Casebook, screened from 1962 to 1971, and radio series . Based on Cronin's novella entitled...
and
James BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
. Peter Haining's most recent project was a series of World War Two stories based on extensive research and personal interviews:
The Jail That Went To Sea (2003),
The Mystery of Rommel's Gold (2004),
Where The Eagle Landed (2004),
The Chianti Raiders (2005) and
The Banzai Hunters (2007).
He won the British Fantasy Awards
Karl Edward WagnerKarl Edward Wagner was an American writer, editor and publisher of horror, science fiction, and heroic fantasy, who was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and originally trained as a psychiatrist. His disillusionment with the medical profession can be seen in the stories "The Fourth Seal" and "Into...
Award in 2001.
Partial bibliography
Peter Haining contributed to over 170 books, authoring the vast majority, a few of which are listed here.
- M. R. James
Montague Rhodes James, OM, MA, , who used the publication name M. R. James, was an English mediaeval scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge and of Eton College . He is best remembered for his ghost stories, which are regarded as among the best in the genre...
- Book of the Supernatural (1979) (ISBN 0-572-01048-6) Introduction by Sir John BetjemanSir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
. Articles and rare items about MRJ
- A Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
Compendium (1980)
- Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
: The Key to Time A year by year record (1984) (ISBN 0-491-03283-8)
- The Nine Lives of Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
(1999)
- The legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring-Heeled Jack (1977)
- The Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
Scrapbook (1973) Indispensable for collectors of Sherlockiana
- Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as then antagonist of the Victorian penny dreadful The String of Pearls and he was later introduced as an antihero in the broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and its film adaptation...
: The Real Story of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1993) London: Robson Books
- On Call with Doctor Finlay
Doctor Finlay is a British television series based on A. J. Cronin's stories about the fictional hero, Dr. Finlay. It is a follow-up to Dr. Finlay's Casebook, the successful BBC series. It takes place in the 1940s after John Finlay returns from war service...
(1994) London: Boxtree Limited
External links