Stephen Bates | British writer and award-winning former journalist

I'm Stephen Bates, a British writer and award-winning journalist.

For over 45 years I’ve reported from more than 40 countries around the world, for the BBC, Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail and – for 22 of those years – for The Guardian.

I am now a freelance writer, regular broadcaster and the author of eight books with two more scheduled for publication in 2022. I’m always happy to respond to commissions from new sources in UK and abroad.

You can contact me by email or on +44 (0) 7770 929 302 or my Agent Charlie Viney on +44 (0) 7734 072 044

Non-fiction

Royalty Inc.: Britain's Best-Known Brand (Sept 2015)

Was partly the outcome of my twelve years as the Guardian's royal correspondent, 2000-2012, but it contains much new information and the outcome of interviews with many current and former palace officials and members of staff.

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Penny Loaves and Butter Cheap: Britain in 1846 (2014)

Or Two Nations: Britain in 1846 (paperback, 2015) A kaleidoscopic picture of Britain in 1846, a nation on the brink of economic and social change as the Industrial Revolution deepened its impact.

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The Poisoner: The Life and Crimes of Victorian Britain’s Most Notorious Doctor (Sept 2015)

This is a re-examination of a notorious Victorian murder case, which thrilled the world in 1856.

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1815: Regency Britain in the Year of Waterloo (2014)

‘Battles, balls, Byron and the birth of modern Britain described with wit and wisdom’

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God’s Own Country: Religion and Politics in the US (2007)

I’m a huge fan of America and its history and this is an attempt to explain to a British readership why Americans get religion and we don’t.

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Asquith, Biography of the Edwardian Prime Minister (2008)

Part of the 20th Century British Prime Ministers series.

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A Church at War: Anglicans and Homosexuality (2004)

Commissioned at the height of the controversy over the appointment of a gay bishop – Gene Robinson – in the US –and the appointment and then withdrawal of Jeffrey John in England.

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Fiction

The Photographer’s Boy (2013)

This novel takes the reader into three different key periods in US history: the 1860s, the 1930s, and the present day. It raises great questions about journalism, photography, war, and young love in a compelling story that mixes past and present.

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Journalism

A selection of my work covering royalty, religion, history, cricket and a surprising number of obituaries of politicians, clerics, academics, people in the media and the public eye is shown on the Guardian website.

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Contact

Contact me on stephenbates2012@gmail.com
or +44 (0) 7770 929 302
or my agent Charlie Viney of The Viney Agency on email or +44 (0) 7734 072 044

Stephen John Bates
StephenBatesesq