Grant, John 1933–

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Grant, John 1933–

(Jonathan Gash, Graham Gaunt, Jonathan Grant)

PERSONAL:

Born September 30, 1933, in Bolton, Lancastershire, England; son of Peter Watson (a mill worker) and Anne (a mill worker) Grant; married Pamela Richard (a nurse), February 19, 1955; children: Alison Mary, Jacqueline Clare, Yvonne. Education: University of London, M.B., B.S., 1958; Royal College of Surgeons and Physicians, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., 1958; also earned D.Path., D.Bact., D.H.M., M.D., and D.T. M.H. Hobbies and other interests: Music ("I play a few instruments; choral music"), history, antiques.

ADDRESSES:

Home—England.

CAREER:

General practitioner in London, England, 1958-59; pathologist in London and Essex, England, 1959-62; clinical pathologist in Hannover and Berlin, Germany, 1962-65; University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, lecturer in clinical pathology and head of division, 1965-68; microbiologist in Hong Kong and London, 1968-71; University of London, School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, head of bacteriology unit, 1971-88. Military service: British Army, Medical Corps; attained rank of major; served in Germany.

MEMBER:

International College of Surgeons (fellow), Royal Society of Tropical Medicine (fellow).

AWARDS, HONORS:

Creasy Award, Crime Writers' Association, 1977, for The Judas Pair.

WRITINGS:

"LOVEJOY" MYSTERIES; UNDER PSEUDONYM JONATHAN GASH

The Judas Pair, Harper (New York, NY), 1977.

Gold by Gemini, Harper (New York, NY), 1978.

The Grail Tree, Harper (New York, NY), 1979.

Spend Game, Collins (London, England), 1980, Ticknor & Fields (New Haven, CT), 1981.

The Vatican Rip, Collins (London, England), 1981, Ticknor & Fields (New Haven, CT), 1982.

The Sleepers of Erin, Dutton (New York, NY), 1983.

Firefly Gadroon, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1984.

The Gondola Scam, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1984.

Pearlhanger, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1985.

The Tartan Sell, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1986, published as The Tartan Ringers, Collins (London, England), 1986.

Moonspender, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1987.

Jade Woman, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1989.

The Very Last Gambado, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1990.

The Great California Game, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1991.

The Lies of Fair Ladies, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1992.

Paid and Loving Eyes, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1993.

The Sin within Her Smile, Viking (New York, NY), 1994.

The Grace in Older Women, Viking (New York, NY), 1995.

The Possessions of a Lady, Viking (New York, NY), 1996.

The Rich and the Profane, Macmillan (London, England), 1998, Viking (New York, NY), 1999.

A Rag, a Bone, and a Hank of Hair, Viking (New York, NY), 2000.

Every Last Cent, Macmillan (London, England), 2001, Viking (New York, NY), 2002.

The Ten Word Game, St. Martin's Minotaur, 2004.

"DR. CLARE BURTONALL" MYSTERIES; UNDER PSEUDONYM JONATHAN GASH

Different Women Dancing, Viking (New York, NY), 1997.

Prey Dancing, Viking (New York, NY), 1998.

Die Dancing, Macmillan (London, England), 2000, Viking (New York, NY), 2001.

Bone Dancing, Allison & Busby (London, England), 2003.

Blood Dancing, Allison & Busby (London, England), 2006.

OTHER

(Under pseudonym Jonathan Gash) Member of Parliament, M. Joseph (London, England), 1974.

Terminus (play), produced at Chester Festival, England, 1976.

(Under pseudonym Graham Gaunt) The Incomer, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1982.

(Under pseudonym Jonathan Grant) Mehala, Lady of Sealandings, 1993.

(Under pseudonym Jonathan Gash) The Year of the Woman, Allison & Busby (London, England), 2004.

(Under pseudonym Jonathan Gash) Finding Davey (juvenile), Allison & Busby (London, England), 2005.

Screenwriter of various "Lovejoy" television episodes; contributor of poems to Record; contributor to Journal of the Lancashire Dialect Society and to books, including Winter's Crimes 11, edited by George Hardinge, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1979; The Year's Best Mystery and Suspense Stories, edited by Edward D. Hock, Walker (New York, NY), 1982; Winter's Crimes 18, edited by Hilary Hale, Macmillan (London, England), 1986; Winter's Crimes 21, edited by Hilary Hale, Macmillan (London, England), 1989; and 1st Culprit: A Crime Writers' Association Annual, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1993.

ADAPTATIONS:

Grant's Lovejoy novels were adapted for the television series Lovejoy, produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC-TV) and starring Ian McShane.

SIDELIGHTS:

Novelist John Grant, known to his fans by the nom de plume Jonathan Gash, is the creator of the widely successful "Lovejoy" mystery series. Grant's experiences of the 1970s, working in the antique stalls of London during his days as a medical student, inspired a lifelong interest in antiques, as well as his budding career as a novelist. Antiques would figure prominently in the stories featuring Grant's Lovejoy, who first appeared in the 1977 novel The Judas Pair. Encouraged by the success of that first novel, which won the Crime Writers' Association's Creasy Award, Grant continued his literary endeavors.

Protagonist Lovejoy is an English antiques dealer, and not a typical hero. He is often broke, is unethical in his business dealings, is a great lover of women, and is devoted to antiques. His heroism lies in his dedication to what he does and his constant pursuit of the truth.

In reviewing The Grace in Older Women, which finds Lovejoy cavorting with more mature ladies, Booklist reviewer Emily Melton commented that Grant "has the formula for success down pat, but he's never repetitive—each story is more outrageously fun and funny than the last." Melton wrote that with The Possessions of a Lady, "Grant offers up another hilarious tale featuring one of the most appealing eccentrics in crime fiction." In her review of the twentieth Lovejoy mystery, The Rich and the Profane, Jenny McLarin noted in Booklist that "seemingly thousands of ancillary characters are involved in an astonishing variety of scams, schemes, thefts, and affairs," while a Publishers Weekly reviewer called Grant "in top form."

In A Rag, a Bone, and a Hank of Hair, Lovejoy's research to verify the authenticity of green gemstones leads him to another mystery, as the antiquing sleuth discovers his old partner has died mysteriously. A Publishers Weekly reviewer wrote that "the pace is more than leisurely, with many a detour to natter about antiques…. Fans will chuckle all the way." "Lovable rogue Lovejoy has found a permanent home on the shady side of the antiques trade," noted Bill Ott in his Booklist appraisal, adding that aficionados of Grant's series "will have a ball this time."

In the novel The Ten Word Game, Lovejoy steals his own Rembrandt forgery and is kidnapped and taken aboard a Russian cruise ship whose passengers are antiques collectors and experts. His kidnappers want him to steal authentic treasure, and Lovejoy, who is tolerant of forging, but who opposes stealing, is busy running from the thugs who would have him lift Old Masters from the Hermitage Museum, aided by his only ally, Margaret Dainty. A Kirkus Reviews contributor wrote that "the plot is goofy from the get-go, but the talk and erudition are first-rate." "As always in this series, readers will learn much about art and antiques along the way," noted Connie Fletcher in Booklist, who described this installment as being "a beautifully written, riveting mystery romp."

Following his retirement from the practice of medicine in 1988, Grant, still writing as Gash, developed a second series featuring cardiologist Clare Burtonall. In Different Women Dancing, Clare's life is one of hospital routine and marriage to a wealthy realtor involved in shady schemes. She witnesses an accident and becomes involved with Bonn, a fellow witness who is a former seminary student-turned-male prostitute. A Publishers Weekly reviewer described Bonn as "a kind of Candide, innocent and charismatic, a rising star in the underworld of sex for hire and the syndicate of which he is a part." Booklist reviewer David Pitt compared Grant's new series to the Lovejoy books, noting that the Clare Burtonall books promised to be "a lot rougher." Writing in the Library Journal, contributor Rex E. Klett praised Different Women Dancing as being "told with the author's accustomed panache."

Clare has become a sometime customer of Bonn, and readers find her drawn into his world of drugs and violence, in the novel Prey Dancing. A Publishers Weekly reviewer noted of the novel that, "in edgy, slangy, and original prose, [Grant] captures his quirky cast and unusual settings to create entertainment of the first rank." Booklist reviewer Emily Melton dubbed Prey Dancing "brilliantly written, mysterious, menacing, and filled with unforgettable characters … another winner in an extraordinary new series."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 15, 1995, Emily Melton, review of The Grace in Older Women, p. 1283; August, 1996, Emily Melton, review of The Possessions of a Lady, p. 1886; April 15, 1997, David Pitt, review of Different Women Dancing, p. 1404; July, 1998, Emily Melton, review of Prey Dancing, p. 1864; February 15, 1999, Jenny McLarin, review of The Rich and the Profane, p. 1045; February 15, 2000, Bill Ott, review of A Rag, a Bone, and a Hank of Hair, p. 1088; December 15, 2003, Connie Fletcher, review of The Ten Word Game, p. 729.

Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 1994, review of The Sin within Her Smile, p. 438; April 1, 1995, review of The Grace in Older Women, p. 432; June 15, 1996, review of The Possessions of a Lady, p. 860; May 1, 1997, review of Different Women Dancing, p. 681; December 1, 2003, review of The Ten Word Game, p. 1384.

Library Journal, June 1, 1997, Rex E. Klett, review of Different Women Dancing, p. 154.

New York Times Book Review, March 19, 1989, Newgate Callendar, review of Jade Woman, p. 29; July 18, 1993, Marilyn Stasio, review of Paid and Loving Eyes, p. 17; June 29, 1997, Marilyn Stasio, review of Different Women Dancing, p. 22; April 4, 1999, Marilyn Stasio, review of The Rich and the Profane, p. 20.

Publishers Weekly, March 13, 1995, review of The Grace in Older Women, p. 62; July 1, 1996, review of Possessions of a Lady, p. 45; April 7, 1997, review of Different Women Dancing, p. 76; July 6, 1998, review of Prey Dancing, p. 54; March 15, 1999, review of The Rich and the Profane, p. 50; February 14, 2000, review of A Rag, a Bone, and a Hank of Hair, p. 177.