Jim Powell (British novelist)

Jim Powell (17 May 1949 – 20 May 2023) was a British novelist, and a direct descendant of the 19th-century novelist Thomas Love Peacock. Powell also had careers in advertising and pottery, and was a political activist.

Early life and education

Born in London, Jim Powell was educated at Charterhouse School and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he took a master's degree in history.

Novelist

Powell's first novel, The Breaking of Eggs, was published in 2010. It deals with the impact of fascism and communism on 20th-century Europe. The novel was longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize for first novels.[1] It was reviewed in The New Zealand Herald.[2] Powell's second novel, Trading Futures, was published in 2016, and his third novel, Things We Nearly Knew, in 2018.

Other activities

In 1971, after Cambridge, Powell found employment at Wasey, Campbell-Ewald, an advertising agency in London. He went on to become managing director of Michael Bungay DFS, another agency.[3][4]

Powell was a co-founder of Holdenby Designs, a business designing and producing pottery.[3]

At the 1987 general election, Powell stood as the Conservative Party candidate in Coventry North West, but lost to the incumbent Labour MP Geoffrey Robinson.[5] He was a friend of senior politician Francis Pym whom he assisted with (Pym's) 1985 book The Politics of Consent.[6]

Death

Jim Powell died of emphysema on 20 May 2023, at the age of 74.[3]

References
  1. BBC News Apr 14, 2010
  2. Pellegrino, Nicky (21 June 2010). "The golden egg". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  3. "Jim Powell, adman and pottery entrepreneur who in later life became a successful novelist – obituary". Daily Telegraph. 2 July 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  4. "Jim Powell". Weidenfeld & Nicolson. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  5. Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_1987.txt. Retrieved 3 July 2023. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. "The Politics of Consent". GoodReads. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
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