Francis James McLynn (born 29 August 1941), known as Frank McLynn, is a British author, biographer, novelist, historian and journalist.
He is known for biographies of Napoleon, Robert Louis Stevenson, Carl Jung, Richard Francis Burton and Henry Morton Stanley.
Early life and education McLynn was educated at the John Fisher School, Purley, and won an Open Scholarship in Classics to Wadham College, Oxford. Once at Oxford, McLynn switched to Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE). McLynn explained his choice by stating that "history and literature were my first loves, and I would always read them in future life, but I doubted that I would ever pick up a book on economics or philosophy again". This multi-disciplinary course formed part of McLynn's ambition to become a polymath.
Career McLynn entered the professional world as a journalist. He developed an interest in Latin America, and spent two years in Colombia as deputy director of the British Council, and a subsequent year in Argentina as a Parry/Ford Foundation Fellow. He was awarded a PhD in the early 1970s for a thesis on Argentina in the 1860s.
Prior to and during his career as a writer, McLynn worked in academic positions in the UK and USA.
Academic positions +University/CollegePositionYearsKing's College LondonAssistant lecturer1972-74Humboldt State UniversityLecturer1977-78St Antony's, OxfordAlistair Horne Research Fellow1987-88Strathclyde University, GlasgowVisiting Professor1996-2001Goldsmith's College, LondonProfessorial Fellow2000-02
Awards and nominations McLynn was shortlisted for the NCR Book Award for Carl Gustav Jung: A Biography
Bibliography Books +TitleFirst PublishedPublisherReissuedReissued ByFrance and the Jacobite Rising of 17451981Edinburgh University PressThe Jacobite Army in England, 1745–461983John Donald Publishers LtdThe Jacobites1985Routledge & Kegan PaulInvasion: From the Armada to Hitler1987RoutledgeCharles Edward Stuart: A Tragedy in Many Acts1988Routledge2020Sharpe BooksCrime and Punishment in Eighteenth Century England1989RoutledgeStanley: The Making of an African Explorer, 1841–18771989Constable & Co.From the Sierras to the Pampas: Richard Burton's Travels in The Americas, 1860–691991Trafalgar SquareStanley: Sorcerer's Apprentice1991Constable & Co.Snow upon the Desert: The Life of Sir Richard Burton1993John Murray Publishers LtdHearts of Darkness: The European Exploration of Africa1993Caroll & Graf PublishersFamous Letters: Messages & Thoughts That Shaped Our World1993Reader's Digest AssociationFitzroy MacLean1993John Murray Publishers LtdRobert Louis Stevenson: A Biography1994Random HouseFamous Trials: Cases That Made History1995Reader's DigestNapoleon: A Biography1997Arcade PublishingCarl Gustav Jung: A Biography1997Thomas Dunne Books1066: The Year of the Three Battles1998Johnathan CapePimlicoVilla and Zapata: A History of the Mexican Revolution2000Basic BooksWagons West: The Epic Story of America's Overland Trails2002Grove Press1759: The Year Britain Became Master of the World2005Atlantic Monthly PressLionheart and Lackland: King Richard, King John and the Wars of Conquest*2006Jonathan CapeMarcus Aurelius: Warrior, Philosopher, Emperor2009Bodley HeadHeroes and Villains: Inside the Minds of the Greatest Warriors in History2009PegasusThe Burma Campaign: Disaster Into Triumph 1942–452010Bodley Head2011Yale University PressCaptain Cook: Master of the Seas2011Yale University PressThe Road Not Taken: How Britain Narrowly Missed a Revolution, 1381–19262012Random HouseGenghis Khan: The Man Who Conquered the World2015Bodley HeadBipolar: The South Pole2018Crux PublishingBipolar: The North Pole *Published in the US as Richard and John: Kings at War (2007), Da Capo Press
As editor Of No Country: An Anthology of the Works of Sir Richard Burton (1990), London: Scribners
Awards and accolades Cheltenham Prize for Literature (1985; for The Jacobite Army in England) Shortlisted, McVitie's Prize for Scottish Writer of the Year (1989, for Charles Edward Stuart)
See also Legacy and memory of Napoleon
References