Ardagh, John 1928-2008 (John Anthony Charles Ardagh)

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born May 28, 1928, in Blantyre, Nyasaland (now Malawi); died January 26, 2008. Journalist, travel writer, and author. Apart from brief periods as a staff journalist for the Times of London in the 1950s and the Observer in the 1960s, Ardagh spent his life on the move. He earned his living writing about the places he visited, and one of his favorite places seems to have been France. He wrote or edited at least a dozen books about that country, covering its history, culture, landscape, people—the special ambience that has lured visitors to its cities, villages, and beaches for centuries. Ardagh's first book was a rather academic social and economic survey, but later volumes ranged farther afield. These include Rural France: The People, Places, and Character of the Frenchman's France (1983) and Writers' France: A Regional Panorama (1989), which takes readers to the French places that were favored by various literary figures over the years. Ardagh also wrote about other places. A Tale of Five Cities: Life in Provincial Europe Today (1979) takes the reader from England to France, Germany, Italy, and the Slovenian city of Ljubljana, which was at the time part of Yugoslavia. Ireland and the Irish: Portrait of a Changing Society (1995), enabled the author to visit his father's ancestral homeland. Always, however, Ardagh's thoughts returned to France. His 1977 book The New France was updated several times, most recently as France in the New Century (1999).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Times (London, England), January 30, 2008, p. 54.