Richard Hopton
Richard Hopton; Author, Historian, Journalist, Editor
Richard is an award-winning British author; a novelist, historian and journalist. He has published three works of non-fiction and one novel, The Straits of Treachery. His journalism and book reviews appear in publications internationally.
As a writer, Richard is known for his ability to research and evaluate historical records, sharing his findings through readable and stylish autobiographical or fictional prose. His career as a writer is established and acclaimed: the biography, A Reluctant Hero, was based on interviews with those who knew the subject, a skill of transferable value to his work as a ghostwriter. As a journalist, Richard’s output is broad, encompassing a variety of literary work, business writing, on culture and lifestyle, and in retail and luxury brands at acclaimed venues such as The Critic, The Economist, Literary Review and Country & Town House. Almost all of his 120 feature pieces involved profiling interesting and known names; celebrities and high-net-worth individuals via online or in-person interview: founders, CEOs, authors among them. Figures as diverse as Roger Law, the Earl of March, Arnaud Bamberger of Cartier and Brent Hoberman, formerly of lastminute.com, photographer Charlie Waite, the London wine merchant Johnny Goedhuis, and more.
Richard is an experienced book reviewer with particular knowledge of the non-fiction, general interest, and memoir markets. He also provides commercial copywriting work to individuals, businesses, and companies in both print and digital, such as The Great British Brands Handbook, which profiles businesses in the luxury market as well as their leaders.
Richard has appeared on television, radio, and many podcasts, including for the BBC to discuss his work. He lectures and gives after-dinner speeches on subjects far and wide. His own books have been well reviewed in The Daily Telegraph, Financial Times and The Times Literary Supplement. Richard is a qualified barrister with interests including architecture, the British countryside, art, politics, cricket, racing, springer spaniels, and drinking wine. He lives in Dorset with his wife and two children.
“Hair-raising and enlightening history.” Daily Telegraph
“Intriguing history.” Sunday Telegraph
“Vivid history of honour, etiquette, egocentricity and even practicality.” The Times Magazine
“Pistols at Dawn contains countless examples of duels fought between the 16th and 19th centuries, which, after the first half-dozen or so, you might expect to start wearing thin. Not in the slightest. To illustrate duelling’s long and chequered history, Richard Hopton has chosen his duels well.” The New Statesman
Educated at Magdalen College, Oxford. M.A. in Modern History.
Called to the Bar by Gray’s Inn, 1990
Winner of the Society for Army Historical Research’s Fiction Prize 2020
Key Links
Online Magazine | Hopton, R. | Dorset’s Latest Literary Star, Sherborne Times, 2022
Book Review | Hopton, R. | On the Edge of your Seat, Country and Town House, 2023
Historical Non-fiction | Hopton, R. | Battle of Maida 1806, Pen & Sword, 2008
Book Review | Hopton, R. | Marshalling India’s Maharaja’s, The Critic, 2024
Biography | Hopton, R. | A Reluctant Hero, Pen & Sword, 2011