J. P. Carswell

John Patrick Carswell

civil servant and author who served as Secretary of the British Academy

from 1978 to 1983. Professionally and as an author, he was known as J. P. Carswell, although he published some of his books under the name John Carswell.

Early life

The son of Donald Carswell, a barrister and author, and of Catherine Carswell, also an author, he was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, and St John's College, Oxford.^[1]

Career

Carswell completed his degree course at

University Grants Committee from 1974 until 1977, and his last appointment was as Secretary of the British Academy for five years, 1978 to 1983.^[1]

He was a member of the Garrick Club.^[1]

Publications

Books

The Prospector: being the life and times of Rudolf Erich Raspe (1737–1794), 1950 [about the creator of the famous fictional Baron Munchausen character]
The Old Cause: Three Biographical Studies in Whiggism, 1954
The
South Sea Bubble
, 1960, 2nd edition 1993
The Diary and Political Papers of George Bubb Dodington (ed with L. A. Dralle), 1965
The Civil Servant and his World, 1966
The Descent on England: A Study of the English Revolution of 1688 and its European Background, 1969
From Revolution to Revolution: England 1688-1776, 1973
Lives and Letters, 1978
The Exile: a memoir of
Ivy Litvinov
, 1983
Government and the Universities in Britain: Programme and Performance 1960-1980, 1986
The Porcupine: a life of Algernon Sidney, 1989
The Saving of Kenwood and the Northern Heights, 1992

Articles

Algernon Sidney's 'Court Maxims': The Biographical Importance of a Transcript, in: Historical Research (HR) 62, February 1989, pp. 96–103
Lost for words on "the heritage", letter, The Times, 8 September 1983, p. 11

He also contributed to the

Times Literary Supplement and other periodicals.^[1]

Honours

Companion of the Order of the Bath, 1977^[1]
Honorary Research Fellow, Department of History, University College London, 1983^[1]
Life Member of the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, 1984^[1]
Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, 1984^[1]

Family

In 1944, Carswell married Ianthe Elstob, and they had two daughters.^[1] Ianthe Elstob was the daughter of a naval officer and his wife Ivy Elstob and the stepdaughter of Irving Davis, author of the posthumous A Catalan Cookery Book: a Collection of Impossible Recipes (1969).^[3] Ianthe Carswell died in 2001. In 1957, with Sheila Jones, she had formed the National Committee for the Abolition of Nuclear Tests, which evolved into the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ CARSWELL, John Patrick^{[permanent dead link]} at Who Was Who 1897-2006 online at Credo Reference (accessed 12 January 2008); or see his entry in Who's Who 1993 (London, A. & C. Black, 1993) p. 316
^ Carswell, Descent on England, pp. ix-x
^ A Catalan Cookery Book Archived 2007-08-25 at the Wayback Machine at dial.pipex.com (accessed 12 January 2008)
^ THE DIARY by SHOLTO BYRNES in The Independent, London, March 4, 2001 online at findarticles.com (accessed 12 January 2008)

[ww-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ CARSWELL, John Patrick^{[permanent dead link]} at Who Was Who 1897-2006 online at Credo Reference (accessed 12 January 2008); or see his entry in Who's Who 1993 (London, A. & C. Black, 1993) p. 316

[2] Carswell, Descent on England, pp. ix-x

[3] A Catalan Cookery Book Archived 2007-08-25 at the Wayback Machine at dial.pipex.com (accessed 12 January 2008)

[4] THE DIARY by SHOLTO BYRNES in The Independent, London, March 4, 2001 online at findarticles.com (accessed 12 January 2008)

[1]

[3]

[4]

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