Patrick Seale
Encyclopedia
Patrick Abram Seale is a British journalist and author who specialises in the Middle East
, as well as a literary agent and art dealer. He is a former correspondent for The Observer
and has interviewed many of the Middle East's most prominent leaders and personalities.
Seale is the author of a number of books, including The Struggle for Syria (1965), French Revolution 1968 (1968), Philby, the Long Road to Moscow (1973), The Hilton Assignment (1973), Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East (1988), Abu Nidal: A Gun for Hire (1992), and The Struggle for Arab Independence: Riad el-Solh and the Makers of the Modern Middle East (2010). He also ghostwrote Desert Warrior, the 1995 Gulf War memoirs of Saudi prince Khaled bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz.
(1896-1993). He was educated at Balliol
and St Antony's College, Oxford
, where he specialised in Middle East history. He obtained his D.Litt at Oxford. His journalistic experience includes six years with Reuters, mainly as a financial journalist, and over twelve with The Observer, covering the Middle East, Africa, and India.
(Beirut), The Saudi Gazette (Jiddah) and Gulf News
(Dubai).
. Seale's first wife, Lamorna Heath, had an affair with British novelist Martin Amis
during a brief separation in their marriage, and became pregnant with a daughter, Delilah. Patrick Seale agreed to raise the girl as his own, and did so alone, after his wife, who had suffered from depression, committed suicide when Delilah was two. He told Delilah on her 18th birthday in 1995 that Amis, a writer she was studying for her A-levels, was in fact her biological father.
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, as well as a literary agent and art dealer. He is a former correspondent for The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
and has interviewed many of the Middle East's most prominent leaders and personalities.
Seale is the author of a number of books, including The Struggle for Syria (1965), French Revolution 1968 (1968), Philby, the Long Road to Moscow (1973), The Hilton Assignment (1973), Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East (1988), Abu Nidal: A Gun for Hire (1992), and The Struggle for Arab Independence: Riad el-Solh and the Makers of the Modern Middle East (2010). He also ghostwrote Desert Warrior, the 1995 Gulf War memoirs of Saudi prince Khaled bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz.
Background
Seale's father was the Arabist and Theologian Morris S. SealeMorris S. Seale
Morris S. Seale was an Arab scholar and Theologist who wrote about both Christian and Muslim traditions and explored extensively the links between the two religions...
(1896-1993). He was educated at Balliol
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
and St Antony's College, Oxford
St Antony's College, Oxford
St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.St Antony's is the most international of the seven all-graduate colleges of the University of Oxford, specialising in international relations, economics, politics, and history of particular parts of the...
, where he specialised in Middle East history. He obtained his D.Litt at Oxford. His journalistic experience includes six years with Reuters, mainly as a financial journalist, and over twelve with The Observer, covering the Middle East, Africa, and India.
Career
Based in France, Seale is syndicated by Agence Global. His columns appear in most major newspapers around the world, and are carried weekly by several newspapers, including Al-Hayat (London), Al-Ittihad (Abu Dhabi), The Daily StarDaily Star (Lebanon)
The Daily Star is a pan-Middle East English language newspaper edited in Beirut. It was founded in 1952 by Kamel Mrowa, the publisher of the Arabic daily Al-Hayat to serve the growing number of expatriates brought by the oil industry...
(Beirut), The Saudi Gazette (Jiddah) and Gulf News
Gulf News
Gulf News is a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates with a December 2009 BPA audited circulation of over 117,036 qualified copies...
(Dubai).
Personal life
Seale is married to Rana Kabbani, the Syrian writer and daughter of former Syrian Ambassador to the United States, Sabah QabbaniSabah Qabbani
Sabah Qabbani was appointed ambassador of Syria to the United States by President Hafez Al-Asad in 1974. The post had been vacant since 1967 when diplomatic relations between Syria and the United States were severed following the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Ties between the two countries were...
. Seale's first wife, Lamorna Heath, had an affair with British novelist Martin Amis
Martin Amis
Martin Louis Amis is a British novelist, the author of many novels including Money and London Fields . He is currently Professor of Creative Writing at the Centre for New Writing at the University of Manchester, but will step down at the end of the 2010/11 academic year...
during a brief separation in their marriage, and became pregnant with a daughter, Delilah. Patrick Seale agreed to raise the girl as his own, and did so alone, after his wife, who had suffered from depression, committed suicide when Delilah was two. He told Delilah on her 18th birthday in 1995 that Amis, a writer she was studying for her A-levels, was in fact her biological father.