# David Arscott > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/David_Arscott > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/David_Arscott.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Arscott > Source revision: 1336192882 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **David John Arscott** (9 December 1942 – 29 November 2024) was a British author, local historian and publisher from [Sussex](/source/Sussex). Arscott wrote more than 40 books about Sussex, as well as several volumes of the [Salariya Book Company](/source/Salariya_Book_Company)'s *Very Peculiar History* series and a number of works of fiction. His 1984 novel *The Frozen City* has been translated into Japanese.[1] His first venture into [political satire](/source/Political_satire), *Lady Thatcher's Wink*, was published in 2016. As an author, his books are largely held in libraries worldwide.[2] Arscott worked as a journalist from 1959, first with the *[Investors Chronicle](/source/Investors_Chronicle)* and the [*Evening Standard*](/source/London_Evening_Standard) in [London](/source/London) and then for the English language paper [*The Daily Journal*](/source/The_Daily_Journal_(Venezuela)) in [Caracas, Venezuela](/source/Caracas). Returning to England, he reported for the [*Dorset Evening Echo*](/source/Dorset_Echo).[3] After taking an English degree at [Hertford College, Oxford](/source/Hertford_College,_Oxford),[4] he joined [BBC Radio Brighton](/source/BBC_Sussex) as a news producer, switching to general programme production and presentation shortly before the station expanded to become [BBC Radio Sussex](/source/BBC_Sussex).[5] His publishing company, Pomegranate Press, founded in 1992, offered a self-publishing service to other authors. It initially specialised in books with a Sussex theme but later expanded to include the Pomegranate Practicals nutshell guides, fiction and a range of non-fiction titles.[6] He was also involved in media training with Curtin and Co, working with colleagues in the UK and abroad to coach individuals and groups in improving their skills in front of the microphone and the camera.[7] Arscott lived in [Lewes](/source/Lewes). He died there, in the grounds of [Lewes Priory](/source/Lewes_Priory), on 29 November 2024, at the age of 81.[8][9][10][11] ## Bibliography ### Sussex books *Hidden Sussex* (with Warden Swinfen) (BBC Radio Sussex) 1984 *People of Hidden Sussex* (with Warden Swinfen) (BBC Radio Sussex) 1985 *Hidden Sussex Day by Day* (with Warden Swinfen) (BBC Radio Sussex) 1987 *Hidden Sussex The Towns* (with Warden Swinfen) (BBC Radio Sussex) 1990[12] *Explore Sussex* (Countryside Books) 1986 *The Sussex Story* (Pomegranate Press) 1992 *Living Sussex* (Pomegranate Press) 1994 *Curiosities of East Sussex* (SB Publications) 1991 *Hastings and the 1066 Country* (SB Publications) 1993 *Curiosities of West Sussex* (SB Publications) 1993 *A Sussex Quiz Book* (SB Publications) 1993 *Tales from the Parish Pump* (SB Publications) 1994 *Sussex, the County in Colour* (Dovecote Press) 1995 *A Second Sussex Quiz Book* (SB Publications) 1995 *Dead and Buried in Sussex* (SB Publications) 1997 *Sussex Privies* (Countryside Books) 1998 *What the Vicar Saw* (Pomegranate Press) 1999 *The Sussex Millennium Book* (Pomegranate Press) 1999 *The Sussex Gardens Book* (Pomegranate Press) 2000 *A Century of Brighton & Hove* (Sutton Publishing) 2000 *Eastbourne Past & Present* (Sutton Publishing) 2001 *Horsham Past & Present* (Sutton Publishing) 2002 *Brighton in the News* (Sutton Publishing) 2002 *Amberley Castle* (Dovecote Press) 2002 *A Century of Eastbourne* (Sutton Publishing) 2002 *Chailey Heritage* (SB Publications) 2003 *East Sussex Events* (Phillimore) 2003 *The Sussex Bedside Book* (Dovecote Press) 2003 *Our Lewes* (Sutton Publishing) 2004 *Sussex: a Colour Portrait* (Countryside Books 2004 *Lewes Then & Now vol. 2* (with Bill Young) (SB Publications) 2004 *The Neat & Nippy Guide to Lewes* (SB Publications) 2006 *Wunt be Druv: a salute to the Sussex dialect* (Countryside Books) 2006 *A Sussex Kipling* (Pomegranate Press) 2007 *A Tour Along the Sussex Coast* (Snake River Press) 2008[13][14] *Brighton: a Very Peculiar History* (Salariya) 2009[15][16] *The Sussex Pub Quiz Book* (Pomegranate Press) 2010 *The Little Book of Sussex* (History Press) 2011[17] *Horsham Then & Now* (History Press) 2011 *Floreat Lewys: 500 Years of Lewes Old Grammar School* (Pomegranate Press) 2012 *Brighton, a Very Peculiar History Quiz Book* (Salariya) 2012 *A Sussex Belloc* (Pomegranate Press) 2024[18][19] ### Very Peculiar Histories (Salariya) *The Blitz*, 2009 *Rations*, 2010 *The World Cup*, 2010 *The Olympics*, 2011[20] *60 Years a Queen*, 2011 *Golf*, 2011 *The Sixties*, 2012 *Sex*, 2012 *England vol. I*, 2013 *Oxford*, 2013 *Wine*, 2016 *Churchill*, 2018 *The Thames*, 2018 *Bath*, 2019 *British Prime Ministers*, 2020 *American Presidents*, 2020 *Climate Change*, 2020 ### Fiction *A Revelstoke Reverie*, The New Review, Vol. 1, No. 11, 1975 *[The Frozen City](/source/The_Frozen_City)* (with David Marl) ([Allen & Unwin](/source/Allen_%26_Unwin)) 1984[21] *A Flight of Bright Birds* (with David Marl) (Allen & Unwin) 1985 *Cultic Cyphers from Celtic Cyprus (7,5)* (Pomegranate Press) 2002 *Maracas in Caracas: short stories from England and the Americas* (Pomegranate Press) 2005 *Boyhunt* (with David Marl) (Pomegranate Press) 2006 *The Eye and the Blade Trilogy* (with David Marl) (*The Frozen City*, *A Flight of Bright Birds*, *Shadows in Crimson Colours*) (Pomegranate Press) 2009 *Lady Thatcher’s Wink* (Pomegranate Press) 2016[22] ### Other *Agelines: change, challenge and choice in an ageing society* (BBC Radio Sussex) 1987 *The Upstart Gardener* (Lindel Organisation) 1988 *The Stream Garden* (with Archie Skinner) (Ward Lock) 1996 *Good English: how to speak it and to write it* (Pomegranate Press) 1997 *Headline: a beginner’s guide to mastering the media* (Pomegranate Press) 1998 *Good Essays: how to plan them and to write them* (with Ann Varley) (Pomegranate Press) 1999 *Self Publish: how to create and market your own book* (Pomegranate Press) 2004) *A Little Book of Arscotts* (Pomegranate Press) 2012 *Who’s Afraid of Spelling?* (Salariya) 2014 *Who’s Afraid of Clear English?* (Salariya) 2014 ## References 1. ["David Arscott"](http://ameqlist.com/sfa/arscott.htm). ameqlist.com. Retrieved 16 September 2016. 1. ["Arscott, David"](https://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n85148938/). worldcat.org. Retrieved 17 September 2016. 1. Arscott, David (2012). *A little book of Arscotts*. Lewes, East Sussex: Pomegranate Press. ISBN 978-1-907242-39-7. 1. ["News From Old Members"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160724230915/http://www.hertford.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/attachments/publications/HC%20magazine%2094%20%282014%29_ws.pdf). *The Hertford College Magazine*. Archived from [the original](https://www.hertford.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/attachments/publications/HC%20magazine%2094%20(2014)_ws.pdf) on 24 July 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016. 1. White, Tim. ["Author David Arscott"](http://www.battle-abbey.co.uk/_New_Site/Hastings/localauthors009x.htm). battle-abbey.co.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2016. 1. ["Pomegranate Press – Lewes publisher of Sussex authors and self-publication specialists"](http://www.pomegranate-press.co.uk). pomegranate-press.co.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2016. 1. ["Our People"](https://web.archive.org/web/20161202025352/http://crisis-comms.com/our-people/). crisis-comms.com. Archived from [the original](http://crisis-comms.com/our-people/) on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016. 1. ["David Arscott obituary"](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jan/28/david-arscott-obituary). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 2 January 2026. 1. ["A tribute to David Arscott (1942-2024): The Man on the Corner in Lewes"](https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/people/a-tribute-to-david-arscott-1942-2024-the-man-on-the-corner-in-lewes-4913348). *Sussex World*. Retrieved 2 January 2026. 1. ["Tribute paid to Sussex author and broadcaster David Arscott"](https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/24811359.tribute-paid-sussex-author-broadcaster-david-arscott). *The Argus*. Retrieved 2 January 2026. 1. ["David Arscott – Champion of ‘the local Radio Four’"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/mypension/documents/bbc-prospero-april-2025.pdf). *Prospero*. Retrieved 2 January 2026. 1. ["Hidden Sussex – the Towns, Warden Swinfen and David Arscott, Book review"](http://www.westsussex.info/book-review-hidden-sussex-the-towns.shtml). *westsussex.info*. Retrieved 18 September 2016. 1. ["A Tour Along the Sussex Coast by David Arscott | Review by West Sussex.info"](http://www.westsussex.info/book-review-tour-along-sussex-coast.shtml). *www.westsussex.info*. Retrieved 18 September 2016. 1. ["A Tour Along the Sussex Coast | Sussex Books, Books About Sussex, Sussex Guides | Snake River Press"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130328063808/http://www.snakeriverpress.co.uk/product/?pid=14525). *www.snakeriverpress.co.uk*. Archived from [the original](http://www.snakeriverpress.co.uk/product/?pid=14525) on 28 March 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2016. 1. ["Royal romance"](http://www.theargus.co.uk/magazine/nostalgia/pastpresent/4741437.Royal_romance/). *The Argus*. 21 November 2009. Retrieved 18 September 2016. 1. ["Brighton Books"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110810020049/http://www.brightonvisitor.com/brighton-news/brighton-books/). *Brighton Visitor*. 30 October 2010. Archived from [the original](http://www.brightonvisitor.com/brighton-news/brighton-books/) on 10 August 2011. Retrieved 18 September 2016. 1. ["Sussex Past"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140501152611/http://sussexpast.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/SPP125Dec2011.Webv2_1.pdf). *Sussex Past and Present*. Archived from [the original](https://sussexpast.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/SPP125Dec2011.Webv2_1.pdf) on 1 May 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2016. 1. ["New Sussex Celebration - Lewes author's book in tribute to poet Belloc"](https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/arts-and-culture/books/new-sussex-celebration-lewes-authors-book-in-tribute-to-poet-belloc-4416874). *Sussex World*. Retrieved 2 January 2026. 1. ["Weald or Westminster?"](https://www.the-tls.com/regular-features/nb/weald-or-westminster). *Times Literary Supplement*. Retrieved 2 January 2026. 1. ["The Olympics A Very Peculiar History by David Arscott"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170207044814/http://olympicsblog.co.uk/blog/books/the-olympics-a-very-peculiar-history-by-david-arscott/). olympicsblog.co.uk. Archived from [the original](http://olympicsblog.co.uk/blog/books/the-olympics-a-very-peculiar-history-by-david-arscott/) on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2016. 1. Langford, David (2002). *The complete critical assembly : the collected White dwarf (and GM, and GMI) SF review columns*. Holicong, PA: Cosmos Books. pp. 83–84. ISBN 1-58715-330-0. 1. Baker, Norman. ["Book Review: Lady Thatcher's Wink"](https://www.yumpu.com/xx/document/view/55979933/viva-lewes-issue-121-october-2016). Retrieved 2 January 2026. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [David Arscott](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Arscott) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Arscott?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.