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Perranporth Beach © Photo: Simon McBride
Rosamund and Anthea
Winston with Dominic, Andrew and Max
Jean Graham,
née Williamson
Winston
Graham
At Balliol with
Angharad Rees
Winston with his editor
Marjory Chapman
Winston Graham was born on 30th June, 1908 in Victoria Park, Manchester, England.
At the age of 17, following the illness of his father, the family moved to Perranporth,
Cornwall. Winston started writing in his teens and, apart from being a coastguard
during the war, he was a full-time writer all his life. His first published novel, The House
with the Stained Glass Windows came out in 1934; his last, Bella Poldark, was published
in 2002. Just before he died he completed his autobiography, Memoirs of a Private Man,
which was published posthumously by panmacmillan in 2003.
At the age of 17, following the illness of his father, the family moved to Perranporth,
Cornwall. Winston started writing in his teens and, apart from being a coastguard
during the war, he was a full-time writer all his life. His first published novel, The House
with the Stained Glass Windows came out in 1934; his last, Bella Poldark, was published
in 2002. Just before he died he completed his autobiography, Memoirs of a Private Man,
which was published posthumously by panmacmillan in 2003.
Winston married Jean Williamson in September, 1939, someone he had first met in
1926 when she was 13. Jean was a constant source of encouragement, stories and
ideas and a soul-mate with whom he talked over everything he wrote. Some have
compared Jean to Demelza (whom in the Poldarks, Ross first meets when Demelza is
also 13) but Winston Graham denied any direct comparison. In his youth Winston was a
keen tennis player, recording in his diaries how many sets he played each day. He lived
in Perranporth from 1925 until 1959, briefly in the South of France in 1960 and then
settled in East Sussex. He was Chairman of the Society of Authors and a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Literature and in 1983 was honoured with the OBE.
1926 when she was 13. Jean was a constant source of encouragement, stories and
ideas and a soul-mate with whom he talked over everything he wrote. Some have
compared Jean to Demelza (whom in the Poldarks, Ross first meets when Demelza is
also 13) but Winston Graham denied any direct comparison. In his youth Winston was a
keen tennis player, recording in his diaries how many sets he played each day. He lived
in Perranporth from 1925 until 1959, briefly in the South of France in 1960 and then
settled in East Sussex. He was Chairman of the Society of Authors and a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Literature and in 1983 was honoured with the OBE.
Winston and Jean had two children, Andrew and Rosamund both born in Perranporth.
Andrew is Master of Balliol and lives in Oxford with his wife Peggotty. Rosamund
married Douglas Barteau and, with their children Max, Dominic and Anthea, has lived
much of her life in California, except for a period in the early 1970s when she and
Douglas ran The Yankee Clipper restaurant in St Agnes, Cornwall.
Andrew is Master of Balliol and lives in Oxford with his wife Peggotty. Rosamund
married Douglas Barteau and, with their children Max, Dominic and Anthea, has lived
much of her life in California, except for a period in the early 1970s when she and
Douglas ran The Yankee Clipper restaurant in St Agnes, Cornwall.
Life and times ...more
