Giles Foden
Encyclopedia
Giles Foden is an English
author
best known for his award-winning novel The Last King of Scotland
(1998).
in 1967. His family moved to Malawi
in 1971 where he was raised. He was educated at Yarlet Hall and Malvern College
boarding schools, then at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
, where he read English, and at St John's College, Cambridge
. He worked as a journalist for Media Week magazine, then became an assistant editor on the Times Literary Supplement. He was deputy literary editor of The Guardian
between 1995 and 2006 and is currently Fellow in Creative and Performing Arts at Royal Holloway, University of London
. He is a Professor of Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia
, and still contributes regularly to The Guardian
and other journals.
His first novel The Last King of Scotland
(1998), is set during Idi Amin
's rule of Uganda
in the 1970s. It won the Whitbread First Novel Award
, a Somerset Maugham Award
, a Betty Trask Award and the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize. The 2006 feature film, The Last King of Scotland
starring Forest Whitaker
, is based on Foden's novel with considerable differences, and Foden himself makes a brief cameo as a journalist at one of Amin's press conferences. His second novel, Ladysmith
(1999), is set during the Anglo-Boer War
in 1899 and tells the story of a young woman, Bella Kiernan, who becomes caught up in the Siege of Ladysmith
. The book was inspired by letters written by Foden's great-grandfather, Arthur Foden, a British soldier in the Imperial Yeomanry
in South Africa
during the conflict.
Giles Foden edited The Guardian Century (1999), a collection of the best reportage and feature-writing published in the newspaper
during the twentieth century, and he contributed a short story to The Weekenders: Travels in the Heart of Africa, a collection of short fiction set in Africa
by various contemporary writers. Zanzibar (2002), is set in East Africa
and explores the events surrounding the bombings of American embassies in 1998. Mimi and Toutou Go Forth: The Bizarre Battle for Lake Tanganyika, was published in 2004.
In 2009, he donated the short story (One Last) Throw of the Dice to Oxfam's 'Ox-Tales
' project, four collections of UK stories written by 38 authors. Foden's story was published in the 'Water' collection. His latest book Turbulence is a novel on military interest in meteorology in the Second World War.
His brother-in-law is the politician, academic and media historian Tristram Hunt
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
best known for his award-winning novel The Last King of Scotland
The Last King of Scotland
The Last King of Scotland is an award-winning 1998 novel by journalist Giles Foden. Focusing on the rise of Ugandan President Idi Amin and his reign as dictator from 1971 to 1979, the novel is written as the memoir of a fictional Scottish doctor in Amin's employ. Giles Foden's novel received...
(1998).
Biography
Giles Foden was born in WarwickshireWarwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
in 1967. His family moved to Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
in 1971 where he was raised. He was educated at Yarlet Hall and Malvern College
Malvern College
Malvern College is a coeducational independent school located on a 250 acre campus near the town centre of Malvern, Worcestershire in England. Founded on 25 January 1865, until 1992, the College was a secondary school for boys aged 13 to 18...
boarding schools, then at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Fitzwilliam College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge in England.The college traces its origins back to 1869 and the foundation of the Non-Collegiate Students Board, a venture intended to offer students from less financially privileged backgrounds a chance to study...
, where he read English, and at St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
. He worked as a journalist for Media Week magazine, then became an assistant editor on the Times Literary Supplement. He was deputy literary editor of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
between 1995 and 2006 and is currently Fellow in Creative and Performing Arts at Royal Holloway, University of London
Royal Holloway, University of London
Royal Holloway, University of London is a constituent college of the University of London. The college has three faculties, 18 academic departments, and about 8,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students from over 130 different countries...
. He is a Professor of Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
, and still contributes regularly to The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and other journals.
His first novel The Last King of Scotland
The Last King of Scotland
The Last King of Scotland is an award-winning 1998 novel by journalist Giles Foden. Focusing on the rise of Ugandan President Idi Amin and his reign as dictator from 1971 to 1979, the novel is written as the memoir of a fictional Scottish doctor in Amin's employ. Giles Foden's novel received...
(1998), is set during Idi Amin
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada was a military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military...
's rule of Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
in the 1970s. It won the Whitbread First Novel Award
1998 Whitbread Awards
-Children's Book:Winner:*David Almond, SkelligShortlist:*Robert Swindells, Abomination*J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*James Riordan, Sweet Clarinet-First Novel:Winner:*Giles Foden, The Last King of Scotland...
, a Somerset Maugham Award
Somerset Maugham Award
The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each May by the Society of Authors. It is awarded to whom they judge to be the best writer or writers under the age of thirty-five of a book published in the past year. The prize was instituted in 1947 by William Somerset Maugham and thus...
, a Betty Trask Award and the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize. The 2006 feature film, The Last King of Scotland
The Last King of Scotland (film)
The Last King of Scotland is a 2006 British drama film based on Giles Foden's novel of the same name, adapted by screenwriters Peter Morgan and Jeremy Brock, and directed by Kevin Macdonald...
starring Forest Whitaker
Forest Whitaker
Forest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television...
, is based on Foden's novel with considerable differences, and Foden himself makes a brief cameo as a journalist at one of Amin's press conferences. His second novel, Ladysmith
Ladysmith (novel)
Ladysmith is Giles Foden’s second novel. It was published in 1999 by Faber and Faber.-Plot summary:The time is November 1899 through February 1900; the place is Ladysmith, a small railway town in British Natal near its border with the Boer Republics...
(1999), is set during the Anglo-Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
in 1899 and tells the story of a young woman, Bella Kiernan, who becomes caught up in the Siege of Ladysmith
Siege of Ladysmith
The Siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 30 October 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal.-Background:...
. The book was inspired by letters written by Foden's great-grandfather, Arthur Foden, a British soldier in the Imperial Yeomanry
Imperial Yeomanry
The Imperial Yeomanry was a British volunteer cavalry regiment that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Officially created on 24 December 1899, the regiment was based on members of standing Yeomanry regiments, but also contained a large contingent of mid-upper class English volunteers. In...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
during the conflict.
Giles Foden edited The Guardian Century (1999), a collection of the best reportage and feature-writing published in the newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
during the twentieth century, and he contributed a short story to The Weekenders: Travels in the Heart of Africa, a collection of short fiction set in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
by various contemporary writers. Zanzibar (2002), is set in East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
and explores the events surrounding the bombings of American embassies in 1998. Mimi and Toutou Go Forth: The Bizarre Battle for Lake Tanganyika, was published in 2004.
In 2009, he donated the short story (One Last) Throw of the Dice to Oxfam's 'Ox-Tales
Ox-Tales
Ox-Tales refers to four anthologies of short stories written by 38 of the UK's best known authors. All the authors donated their stories to Oxfam...
' project, four collections of UK stories written by 38 authors. Foden's story was published in the 'Water' collection. His latest book Turbulence is a novel on military interest in meteorology in the Second World War.
His brother-in-law is the politician, academic and media historian Tristram Hunt
Tristram Hunt
Tristram Julian William Hunt, FRHistS MP is a British politician, historian, broadcaster and newspaper columnist, who is currently the Member of Parliament for Stoke-on-Trent Central. He also teaches and lectures on Modern British History at Queen Mary, University of London in Mile End, East London...
.
Selected bibliography
- 1998: The Last King of ScotlandThe Last King of ScotlandThe Last King of Scotland is an award-winning 1998 novel by journalist Giles Foden. Focusing on the rise of Ugandan President Idi Amin and his reign as dictator from 1971 to 1979, the novel is written as the memoir of a fictional Scottish doctor in Amin's employ. Giles Foden's novel received...
- 1999: LadysmithLadysmith (novel)Ladysmith is Giles Foden’s second novel. It was published in 1999 by Faber and Faber.-Plot summary:The time is November 1899 through February 1900; the place is Ladysmith, a small railway town in British Natal near its border with the Boer Republics...
- 2002: Zanzibar
- 2004: Mimi and Toutou Go Forth: The Bizarre Battle for Lake Tanganyika
- 2009: Turbulence
Awards and prizes
- 1998: James Tait Black Memorial PrizeJames Tait Black Memorial PrizeFounded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English language and are Britain's oldest literary awards...
(for fiction) (shortlist) The Last King of ScotlandThe Last King of ScotlandThe Last King of Scotland is an award-winning 1998 novel by journalist Giles Foden. Focusing on the rise of Ugandan President Idi Amin and his reign as dictator from 1971 to 1979, the novel is written as the memoir of a fictional Scottish doctor in Amin's employ. Giles Foden's novel received... - 1998: Whitbread First Novel Award1998 Whitbread Awards-Children's Book:Winner:*David Almond, SkelligShortlist:*Robert Swindells, Abomination*J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*James Riordan, Sweet Clarinet-First Novel:Winner:*Giles Foden, The Last King of Scotland...
The Last King of ScotlandThe Last King of ScotlandThe Last King of Scotland is an award-winning 1998 novel by journalist Giles Foden. Focusing on the rise of Ugandan President Idi Amin and his reign as dictator from 1971 to 1979, the novel is written as the memoir of a fictional Scottish doctor in Amin's employ. Giles Foden's novel received... - 1999: Betty Trask Award The Last King of ScotlandThe Last King of ScotlandThe Last King of Scotland is an award-winning 1998 novel by journalist Giles Foden. Focusing on the rise of Ugandan President Idi Amin and his reign as dictator from 1971 to 1979, the novel is written as the memoir of a fictional Scottish doctor in Amin's employ. Giles Foden's novel received...
- 1999: Somerset Maugham AwardSomerset Maugham AwardThe Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each May by the Society of Authors. It is awarded to whom they judge to be the best writer or writers under the age of thirty-five of a book published in the past year. The prize was instituted in 1947 by William Somerset Maugham and thus...
The Last King of ScotlandThe Last King of ScotlandThe Last King of Scotland is an award-winning 1998 novel by journalist Giles Foden. Focusing on the rise of Ugandan President Idi Amin and his reign as dictator from 1971 to 1979, the novel is written as the memoir of a fictional Scottish doctor in Amin's employ. Giles Foden's novel received... - 1999: Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize The Last King of ScotlandThe Last King of ScotlandThe Last King of Scotland is an award-winning 1998 novel by journalist Giles Foden. Focusing on the rise of Ugandan President Idi Amin and his reign as dictator from 1971 to 1979, the novel is written as the memoir of a fictional Scottish doctor in Amin's employ. Giles Foden's novel received...
External links
- An Interview with Giles Foden and an excerpt from The Last King of Scotland on RandomHouse boldtype
- Gildes Foden at The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...