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Andrew Lownie

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Andrew Lownie

Andrew James Hamilton Lownie FRHistS (born November 1961) is a British biographer and literary agent.[1][2][3]

Early life and education

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His father was judge Ralph Hamilton Lownie of Largo (1924-2007). He was educated at Westminster School and Magdalene College, Cambridge, and was President of the Cambridge Union in Easter term 1984.[4] He has a master's degree and doctorate from the University of Edinburgh, and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.[5] His doctoral thesis (2019) was titled "Stalin's Englishman: the lives of Guy Burgess: biography in intelligence history" and discussed his own 2015 book on Burgess.[6]

Representation

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Lownie founded his eponymous literary agency in 1988. It specialises in non-fiction, representing some 200 authors, and is reported to have "regularly been the top selling agent in the world."[7] He founded, and is President of, The Biographers' Club,[8] a group "committed to supporting, promoting and connecting biographers at all levels."[9]

Works

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Lownie has written biographies of writer John Buchan,[10] spy Guy Burgess[11][12] and Lord Mountbatten and his wife Edwina.[13] While researching for his book on the Mountbattens, Lownie found himself blocked by the Cabinet Office and University of Southampton, despite public money being used in 2011 to acquire their archive to "ensure public access".[14][15][16]

In 2021, Lownie published The Traitor King, a biography, based on fresh sources, of the Duke of Windsor. The former Edward VIII is alleged by Lownie to have been a Nazi sympathiser who gave aid and comfort to his country’s enemies before and during the Second World War.[17]

Lownie also wrote a literary guide to Edinburgh,[18] and has edited several volumes of John Buchan's works.

Selected publications

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  • Lownie, Andrew (1995). John Buchan: The Presbyterian Cavalier. Constable. ISBN 0-09-472500-4.
  • Lownie, Andrew (2000). The Literary Companion to Edinburgh. Methuen. ISBN 0413751309. (earlier ed 1992 Canongate Press)
  • Lownie, Andrew (2015). Stalin's Englishman: Guy Burgess, the Cold War, and the Cambridge Spy Ring. Hodder & Stoughton s. ISBN 9781473627369.
  • Lownie, Andrew (2019). The Mountbattens: Their Lives and Loves. Blink Publishing. ISBN 978-1788702560.
  • Lownie, Andrew (2021). Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Bonnier Books. ISBN 978-1788704816.

References

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  1. ^ "Andrew Lownie". literaryfestivals.co.uk. Sane Earth Literary. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  2. ^ "Andrew Lownie literary agency". Jericho Writers. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  3. ^ Pagan, F. E. (1992). The Record of Old Westminsters (Volume IV ed.). p. 238.
  4. ^ "Presidents of the Cambridge Union Society (1815-2005)". Martin Tod. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  5. ^ "The Mountbattens: Author Bio". The Mountbattens. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  6. ^ Lownie, Andrew (2019). "Stalin's Englishman: the lives of Guy Burgess: biography in intelligence history". E-Thesis Online Service. The British Library Board.
  7. ^ "Home page". Andrew Downie Literary Agency. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  8. ^ "History". The Biographers' Club. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  9. ^ "About". The Biographers' Club. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  10. ^ Buchan, James. "The First Hundred Years". London Review of Books. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  11. ^ Norton-Taylor, Richard (10 September 2015). "Stalin's Englishman: The Lives of Guy Burgess by Andrew Lownie – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  12. ^ Anderson, Porter (29 August 2015). "When the agent is the author: Andrew Lownie". The Bookseller. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  13. ^ Tucker, Grant (18 August 2019). "Lord Mountbatten's 'lust for young men' revealed". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  14. ^ Stanford, Peter (18 May 2021). "My costly battle to unearth Lord Mountbatten's secret diaries". The Telegraph.
  15. ^ "Lownie campaign sees some Mountbatten archives released but tribunal looms | the Bookseller".
  16. ^ "Question and Answer with Andrew Lownie". 19 August 2021.
  17. ^ "Duke of Windsor, Traitor King". 22 October 2021.
  18. ^ "Guidebook points out castle's little-known link to literary greats". The Scotsman. 2005. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
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