Ann Treneman

'''Ann Treneman''' (born 1956) is an American journalist, currently working for ''[[The Times]]'' newspaper in the United Kingdom.

Treneman was born in [[Iowa City, Iowa]], but she grew up in [[McMinnville, Oregon]]. She has lived in the UK since the mid-1980s.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/profile/Ann-Treneman|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131130015524/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/profile/Ann-Treneman|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 November 2013|title=Ann Treneman|website=[[The Times]] |publisher=|accessdate=21 September 2015}}</ref>

==Career in journalism== Until September 2015, she was ''[[The Times]]'' [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]]ary sketchwriter.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/life/article4547977.ece|title=Ann Treneman: my life as a parliamentary sketchwriter|work=[[The Times]]|access-date=21 September 2015|last1=Treneman |first1=Ann }}</ref> In this role, her tone was pawky, frequently reducing the serious business of politics to playground spats between bickering children. Another [[leitmotif]] is the humorous written portrayal of politicians as ridiculous caricatures, in the style of a modern-day [[William Hogarth]] [[cartoon]]. A further ploy is the use of [[anthropomorphism]] to further heighten the surreal atmosphere of the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]]. ''[[Total Politics]]'' has referred to Treneman as "one of the sharpest wits in Westminster".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.totalpolitics.com/articles/277577/top-100-political-journalists-2011.thtml |title=Top 100 political journalists 2011 |work=Total Politics |url-status = dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301171422/http://www.totalpolitics.com/articles/277577/top-100-political-journalists-2011.thtml |archivedate=2014-03-01 }}</ref>

In 2015, she became the chief theatre critic for ''[[The Times]]''. She made her debut with a one-star review of the musical ''Dusty'' at the [[Charing Cross Theatre]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title='Summer is over' as critics pan Dusty {{!}} WhatsOnStage|url=https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/dusty-charing-cross-reviews_38677.html|access-date=2021-01-03|website=WhatsOnStage|language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Personal life ==

Ann lived in Derbyshire, but has recently relocated to Kent.

==Books== Her first two books, ''Annus Horribilis: The Worst Year in British Politics'', (2009) and ''Dave and Nick: The Year of the Honeymoon'' (2011) were collections of her Parliamentary sketch pieces and refer to the Conservative Party.<ref name="auto"/>

In October 2013 she published her third book, ''Finding the Plot: 100 Graves to Visit Before You Die''. It arose from her interest in researching the last resting places of significant characters from history; she has said that "London cemeteries have the most interesting people and that north London has more interesting dead people per square mile than anywhere in the world".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/10975387._The_most_interesting_dead_people_per_square_mile_/|title='The most interesting dead people per square mile'|work=Lancashire Telegraph|date=30 January 2014|author=Moorhead, Rosy|accessdate=21 September 2015}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

== External links == *[https://web.archive.org/web/20051115191206/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,17129,00.html Times Politics page, featuring her latest articles] *[http://www.why-war.com/news/2003/02/17/englandp.html Treneman's article on the Iraq War protests]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Treneman, Ann}} [[Category:1956 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Writers from Iowa City, Iowa]] [[Category:British journalists]] [[Category:People from McMinnville, Oregon]] [[Category:Artists from Oregon]] [[Category:Writers from Oregon]]