# Geoffrey Wheatcroft

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British journalist and writer (born 1945)

**Geoffrey Albert Wheatcroft** (born 23 December 1945) is a British journalist, author, and historian.[1]

## Early life and education

Wheatcroft is the son of [Stephen Frederick Wheatcroft](/source/Stephen_Wheatcroft_(economist)) (1921–2016), [OBE](/source/Order_of_the_British_Empire), and his first wife, Joyce (née Reed). He was born in [London](/source/London) and raised at [Hampstead](/source/Hampstead). His father was an economist, serving as a governor of the [London School of Economics](/source/London_School_of_Economics), and an expert on civil aviation, serving as Commercial Planning manager for [British Airways](/source/British_Airways) from 1946 to 1953, before working for various airlines as an independent consultant.[2][3][4]

Wheatcroft was educated at [University College School](/source/University_College_School), London, then [New College](/source/New_College%2C_Oxford), [Oxford](/source/Oxford_University), where he studied [modern history](/source/Modern_history).[5]

## Publishing and journalism

Wheatcroft started work in publishing in 1968, working for [Hamish Hamilton](/source/Hamish_Hamilton) (1968–70), [Michael Joseph](/source/Michael_Joseph_(publisher)) (1971–1973), and [Cassell & Co](/source/John_Cassell) (1974–1975). In 1975, he became the assistant editor of *[The Spectator](/source/The_Spectator)*, moving to the post of literary editor, which he occupied from 1977 to 1981. During the 1981–1984 period, he worked as a reporter in South Africa before becoming editor of the [Londoner's Diary](/source/Londoner's_Diary) gossip column in the London *[Evening Standard](/source/Evening_Standard)* in 1985–1986. He was a *[Sunday Telegraph](/source/Sunday_Telegraph)* columnist in 1987–1991 and freelance 1993–1996, feature writer on the *[Daily Express](/source/Daily_Express)*, 1996–1997, and has since written for *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)*, *[The Times Literary Supplement](/source/The_Times_Literary_Supplement)*, *[The New York Review of Books](/source/The_New_York_Review_of_Books)*, *[The New Republic](/source/The_New_Republic)*, the *[Boston Globe](/source/Boston_Globe)*, *[The Atlantic](/source/The_Atlantic)*, *[The American Conservative](/source/The_American_Conservative)*, and other publications on both sides of the Atlantic.

His book *The Controversy of Zion* won a 1996 [National Jewish Book Award](/source/National_Jewish_Book_Award).[6][7] His 2021 biography of [Winston Churchill](/source/Winston_Churchill)[8] was described by conservative historian [Andrew Roberts](/source/Andrew_Roberts_(historian)) in *The Spectator* as a "character assassination";[9] in *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*, [Peter Baker](/source/Peter_Baker_(journalist)) wrote: "They are, of course, taking different views of the same man. Roberts's book was described in these pages as the best single-volume biography of Churchill yet written. Wheatcroft's could be the best single-volume indictment of Churchill yet written."[10]

## Marriage and family

In 1990, Wheatcroft married the fashion designer and painter [Sally Muir](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sally_Muir&action=edit&redlink=1),[11] the daughter of [Frank Muir](/source/Frank_Muir). They live in [Combe Down](/source/Combe_Down), [Bath, Somerset](/source/Bath%2C_Somerset), and have two children.[12][13]

## Books

- *The Randlords* (1985)

- *Absent Friends* (1989)

- *The Controversy of Zion* (1996)

- *[The Strange Death of Tory England](/source/The_Strange_Death_of_Tory_England)* (2005)

- *Le Tour: A History of the Tour de France* (2003, 2007, 2013)

- *Yo, Blair!* (2007)

- *The Life and Afterlife of Winston Churchill* (2021)

## Sources

- *Who's Who* (2008 edition) s.v. Geoffrey Wheatcroft

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Geoffrey Wheatcroft"](https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/authors/Geoffrey-Wheatcroft/7781). *[Simon & Schuster](/source/Simon_%26_Schuster)*. Retrieved 18 August 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** World Authors, 1995-2000, ed. Mari Rich, et al, H. W. Wilson, 2003, p. 839

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Stephen Wheatcroft, aviation expert – obituary"](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/05/09/stephen-wheatcroft-aviation-expert--obituary). *The Telegraph*. 9 May 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Stephen Wheatcroft"](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/stephen-wheatcroft-qdd69s2j3). *www.thetimes.com*. 1 September 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** One Hundred Letters from Hugh Trevor-Roper, ed. Adam Sisman, Oxford University Press, 2014, p. 390

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Geoffrey Wheatcroft, [Most favored nation](http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2006/04/02/most_favored_nation/), *[The Boston Globe](/source/The_Boston_Globe)*, 2 April 2006.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Past Winners"](https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/national-jewish-book-awards/past-winners?category=30759). Jewish Book Council. Retrieved 22 January 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Hastings, Max (7 November 2021). ["Politicians Who Claim Churchill's Mantle Embody His Worst Traits"](https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-11-07/winston-churchill-politicians-who-claim-his-mantle-embody-his-worst-traits). *Bloomberg News*. New York. Retrieved 28 November 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Roberts, Andrew (14 August 2021). ["Churchill as villain – but is this a character assassination too far?"](https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/churchill-as-villain-but-is-this-a-character-assassination-too-far). *[The Spectator](/source/The_Spectator)*. London. Retrieved 18 August 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Baker, Peter (26 October 2021). ["The Case Against Winston Churchill"](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/26/books/review/geoffrey-wheatcroft-churchills-shadow.html). *The New York Times*. Retrieved 28 November 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["sally muirSally Muir"](https://www.sallymuir.co.uk/). *Sally Muir*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** A Kentish Lad, Frank Muir, Corgi Books, 1998, p. 398

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Fox, Genevieve (12 February 2023). ["'They save us': Sally Muir on the art of drawing rescue dogs"](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/feb/12/they-save-us-sally-muir-on-the-art-of-drawing-rescue-dogs). *The Observer*. Retrieved 12 February 2023.

## External links

- [Wheatcroft on The Guardian](https://web.archive.org/web/20071123193551/http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/geoffrey_wheatcroft/index.html)

- [Biography of Geoffrey Wheatcroft](https://www.theatlantic.com/about/people/gwbio.htm) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20080705152759/http://www.theatlantic.com/about/people/gwbio.htm) 5 July 2008 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) on *[The Atlantic Monthly](/source/The_Atlantic_Monthly)* (accessed 24 September 2007)

- [Wheatcroft author page and article archive](https://www.nybooks.com/authors/2854) from *The New York Review of Books*

- [Appearances](https://www.c-span.org/person/?1023831) on [C-SPAN](/source/C-SPAN)

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND WorldCat National United States Netherlands Sweden Poland Israel People Deutsche Biographie Other IdRef Open Library Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Geoffrey Wheatcroft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Wheatcroft) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Wheatcroft?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.