Англійська » Художня література в оригіналі » Historical fiction » Michael Dobbs (House of Cards and others)
Michael Dobbs was born on 14 November 1948 in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire. After graduating from Oxford in 1971, Dobbs moved to the United States. He attended the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts and graduated in 1977 with an M.A., M.A.L.D., and Ph.D. in nuclear defense studies. After getting his PhD in 1977, Dobbs returned to England and began working in London for the Conservative Party. From 1977 to 1979, he was an advisor to Margaret Thatcher, who was then leader of the Opposition. From 1979 to 1981, he was a Conservative MP speechwriter. From 1981 to 1986, he served as a Government Special Advisor. From 1986 to 1987, he was the Conservative Party Chief of Staff. In 1984, he survived the Brighton bombing at the Conservative Party Conference. From 1994 to 1995, he served in the John Major government as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party.
Michael Dobbs' writing career began in 1989 with the publication of "House of Cards", the first in what would become a trilogy of political thrillers with Francis Urquhart as the central character; House of Cards was followed by "To Play the King" in 1992 and "The Final Cut" in 1994. In 1990 "House of Cards" was turned into a miniseries. The trilogy received 14 BAFTA nominations and two BAFTA wins and was voted the 84th Best British Show in History. Netflix made a US version based upon Dobbs's first novel and its BBC adaptation. His fourth novel, "Winston's War", (2004), was shortlisted for the Channel 4 Political Book of the Year Award, and his Harry Jones novels, "A Sentimental Traitor" and "A Ghost at the Door", for the Paddy Power Political Book of the Year awards in 2013 and 2014, respectively. His novels are also published in the United States. Anthony Howard of The Times said "Dobbs is following in a respectable tradition. Shakespeare, Walter Scott, even Tolstoy, all used historical events as the framework for their writings. And, unlike some of their distinguished works, Dobbs's novel is, in fact, astonishingly historically accurate".
