Geoffrey Moorhouse Biography

British travel writer and historian, born in Bolton, Lancashire, educated at Bury Grammar School. From 1952 to 1970, when he became a freelance author, he was a journalist, travelling widely from 1963 onward as chief features writer with the Guardian. His earlier works include the sociological Britain in the Sixties: The Other England (1964) and Against all Reason (1970), his widely acclaimed investigation of monastic life. Calcutta (1971), a richly textured evocation of the city, was the first of his publications as a travel writer. Subsequent books include The Fearful Void (1974), his psychologically revealing account of a journey across the Sahara by camel; To the Frontier (1984), which records his experiences of north-western Pakistan; and Apples in the Snow (1990), on travels in Central Asia. As a historian, Moorhouse is admired for India Britannica (1983), his accessible and concentrated account of British India. In Hell's Foundations (1992) he examines the part played by soldiers from Bury in the Dardanelles Campaign in 1915 and assesses its social and cultural effects on the town. His highly regarded books on sport include The Best-Loved Game (1979), a celebration of cricket, and At The George (1989), a collection of essays on Rugby League.