Jonathan Basil Keates, is an success English writer, biographer and novelist. He was educated at Bryanston School

Bryanston School

Bryanston School is a co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils in Blandford, north Dorset, England, near the village of Bryanston. It was founded in 1928...

 and went on to read for his undergraduate degree at Magdalen College, Oxford

Magdalen College, Oxford

Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...

.

Keates has written a number of acclaimed biographies and travel books, but his works of fiction have also received critical acclaim, most notably Allegro Postillions, for which he was awarded both the James Tait Black Memorial Prize

James Tait Black Memorial Prize

Founded 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...

 and the Hawthornden Prize

Hawthornden Prize

The Hawthornden Prize is a British literary award that was established in 1919 by Alice Warrender. Authors are awarded on the quality of their "imaginative literature" which can be written in either poetry or prose...

. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature

Royal Society of Literature

The Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...

. He is very interested in Venice, and can not only speak English and Italian, but also French and Spanish. He also writes reviews in some prominent magazines.

His favourite poet is Alfred Lord Tennyson.

In addition, Keates is an successful English teacher employed by the City of London School

City of London School

The City of London School is a boys' independent day school on the banks of the River Thames in the City of London, England. It is the brother school of the City of London School for Girls and the co-educational City of London Freemen's School...

 and a judge of some writing competitions. According to his students, he is both "a genius" and "madly excellent".

Keates is identified as a Gay

Gay

Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

 author. He is a Christian.

Awards and distinctions

• James Tait Black Memorial Prize
  James Tait Black Memorial Prize
  Founded 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...
  
   (1983)
• Hawthornden Prize
  Hawthornden Prize
  The Hawthornden Prize is a British literary award that was established in 1919 by Alice Warrender. Authors are awarded on the quality of their "imaginative literature" which can be written in either poetry or prose...
  
  (1983)

Works

• Shakespeare Country (1979)
• Historic London (1979)
• Canterbury Cathedral (1980)
• Love of Italy (1980)
• Allegro Postillions (1983)
• The Companion Guide to the Shakespeare Country (1983)
• Drawings and Sketches of Oxford (1983)
• Handel: The Man And His Music (1985)
• The Strangers' Gallery (1987)
• Tuscany (1988)
• Italian Journeys (1991)
• Umbria (1991)
• Stendhal (1994)
• Venice (1994)
• Purcell: A Biography (1995)
• Soon to Be a Major Motion Picture (1997)
• Smile Please (2001)
• Short Stories (2001)
• The Rough Guide History of Italy (2003)
• The Siege of Venice (2005)

External links

• Biography from the British Council