Anthony Holden

Anthony Holden (1947 to 2023) was an English writer, broadcaster and literary critic, best known as a biographer of artists including Shakespeare, Tchaikovsky and Laurence Olivier, and of members of the British royal family, notably Charles, Prince of Wales. He began as a journalist: named Young Journalist of the Year in 1972, he was on the staff of The Sunday Times from 1973 to 1979, then Washington correspondent and US editor of The Observer, assistant editor of The Times and executive editor of Today, and later chief classical music critic of The Observer from 2002 to 2008. His book The St. Albans Poisoner (1974) was filmed as The Young Poisoner's Handbook (1995). He also translated opera and Ancient Greek poetry, wrote autobiographical books about poker, and in 2009 became the first President of the International Federation of Match Poker.