Andrew Lownie

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Andrew Lownie
Andrew Lownie.jpg
Lownie in 2016
Born
Andrew James Hamilton Lownie

November 1961 (age 63–64)
Education Westminster School
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Occupation(s)Historian and author
Spouse
Angela Doyle
​
(m. 1998)​
Children2
Father Ralph Lownie
Relatives Edward Hamilton Aitken (great-grandfather)

Andrew James Hamilton Lownie FRHistS (born November 1961) is a British historian and author. [1] [2] [3] He has written books about the royal family, on the Duke of Windsor and his links with the Nazis, and on Prince Andrew, including his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein. He has also written biographies of John Buchan and the Soviet spy Guy Burgess.

Contents

Early life

Andrew Lownie was born in November 1961 to Judge Ralph Hamilton Lownie of Largo (1924–2007). He was educated at Westminster School and Magdalene College, Cambridge, and was President of the Cambridge Union in Easter term 1984. [4] He has a Master's degree and doctorate from the University of Edinburgh, and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. [5] His doctoral thesis (2019) was titled "Stalin's Englishman: the lives of Guy Burgess: biography in intelligence history" and discussed his own 2015 book on Burgess. [6]

Representation

Lownie founded his eponymous literary agency in 1988. It specialises in non-fiction, representing some 200 authors, and is reported to have "regularly been the top selling agent in the world." [7] He founded, and is President of, The Biographers' Club, [8] a group "committed to supporting, promoting and connecting biographers at all levels." [9]

Works

Lownie has written biographies of writer John Buchan, [10] spy Guy Burgess [11] [12] and Lord Mountbatten and his wife Edwina. [13] While researching for his book on the Mountbattens, Lownie found himself blocked by the Cabinet Office and University of Southampton from accessing some archive material, despite public money being used in 2011 to acquire Mountbatten family papers for the University in order to "ensure public access". [14] [15] [16]

In 2021, Lownie published Traitor King , a biography, based on fresh sources, of the Duke of Windsor. The former Edward VIII is alleged by Lownie to have been a Nazi sympathiser who gave aid and comfort to his country's enemies before and during the Second World War. [17] [18] His biography of Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York , was published in 2025, and includes an account of Andrew's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. [19]

Lownie has written a literary guide to Edinburgh, [20] and edited several volumes of John Buchan's works.

Personal life

In 1998, Lownie married Angela Doyle, who writes histories of London houses, and they have two children. [14]

Selected publications

References

  1. ↑ "Andrew Lownie literary agency". Jericho Writers. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  2. ↑ "Andrew Lownie". literaryfestivals.co.uk. Sane Earth Literary. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  3. ↑ Pagan, F. E. (1992). The Record of Old Westminsters (Volume IV ed.). p. 238.
  4. ↑ "Presidents of the Cambridge Union Society (1815-2005)". Martin Tod. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  5. ↑ "The Mountbattens: Author Bio". The Mountbattens. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  6. ↑ Lownie, Andrew (2019). "Stalin's Englishman: the lives of Guy Burgess: biography in intelligence history". E-Thesis Online Service. The British Library Board.
  7. ↑ "Home page". Andrew Downie Literary Agency. Retrieved 17 August 2025. According to Publishers Marketplace, Andrew Lownie has regularly been the top selling agent in the world.
  8. ↑ "History". The Biographers' Club. Archived from the original on 22 June 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  9. ↑ "About". The Biographers' Club. Archived from the original on 22 June 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  10. ↑ Buchan, James. "The First Hundred Years". London Review of Books. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  11. ↑ Norton-Taylor, Richard (10 September 2015). "Stalin's Englishman: The Lives of Guy Burgess by Andrew Lownie – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  12. ↑ Anderson, Porter (29 August 2015). "When the agent is the author: Andrew Lownie". The Bookseller. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  13. ↑ Tucker, Grant (18 August 2019). "Lord Mountbatten's 'lust for young men' revealed". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  14. 1 2 Stanford, Peter (18 May 2021). "My costly battle to unearth Lord Mountbatten's secret diaries". The Telegraph.
  15. ↑ "Lownie campaign sees some Mountbatten archives released but tribunal looms". The Bookseller. 3 August 2021.
  16. ↑ Newman, P.A.J. (19 August 2021). "Question and Answer with Andrew Lownie". PAJ Newman. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  17. ↑ Lownie, Andrew (22 October 2021). "The Duke of Windsor: How he actively engaged with Nazi Germany during World War II". Perspective. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  18. ↑ Field, Marcus (24 August 2021). "Traitor King by Andrew Lownie review: urgent reading for royals". The Standard. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  19. ↑ "Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York". HarperCollins . Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  20. ↑ "Guidebook points out castle's little-known link to literary greats". The Scotsman. 2005. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
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