William Watson (writer)

William Hugh Charles Watson (30 April 1931 – 5 December 2005) was a Scottish author, playwright and newspaper editor. He was initially Literary and then Features editor of the Scotsman newspaper.[1]

William Watson
Born30 April 1931
Edinburgh
Died5 December 2005
Edinburgh
Pen nameJ.K. Mayo
Occupationauthor, playwright
NationalityScottish
GenreSpy fiction
Historical fiction

Born in Edinburgh on 30 April 1931,[2] he attended Edinburgh Academy and then entered Edinburgh and Oxford universities but did not complete either course.

He commenced writing novels in 1969 with Better than One and then wrote two historical novels. The first, titled Beltran in Exile (1979) was about the Knights Templar after the end of the Crusades in Palestine.[3] The Knight on the Bridge (1982) is about the Cathars. These two latter books are generally regarded as his best works.

Between 1970 and 1972 he wrote three plays; Footstool for God, set in Rosslyn Chapel, The Larch and Dodwell's Last Trump. He also co-wrote Sawney Bean with Robert Nye in 1970,[2] and, with Nye, Stanley Eveling, Alan Jackson, Clarisse Eriksson, John Downing and David Mowat an adaptation of Dracula which premiered in Edinburgh in 1969, and in London in 1972.[4]

He wrote six spy thrillers under the nom-de-plume of J K Mayo between 1986 and 1997 using a middle-aged, irritable, Gauloise-smoking ex-army Colonel named Harry Seddall as his hero for these popular books. An interesting aside is his apparent enjoyment of using little-known and obscure words to enhance his excellent descriptions of places and intelligent conversations throughout the books.

He died in an Edinburgh nursing home on 5 December 2005 after a long illness.[2]

He left a wife named Catherine Robins.

Selected works

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Nr Name Type Year
1. Better than One Novel 1969
2. Sawney Bean Play 1970
3. A Footstool for God Play 1972
4. Beltran in Exile (The Last of the Templars) Historical novel 1979
5. The Knight on the Bridge Historical novel 1982
6. The Hunting Season1 Spy novel 1986
7. Wolf's Head1 Spy novel 1987
8. Cry Havoc1 Spy novel 1990
9. A Shred of Honour1 Spy novel 1993
10. The Masterless Men1 Spy novel 1995
11. The Interloper1 Spy novel 1997

1 Published under the pseudonym of J.K. Mayo.

References

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  1. ^ Calder, John (9 December 2005). "Bill Watson". The Guardian.
  2. ^ a b c Taylor, Alan (10 December 2005). "Bill Watson Prolific author and gentleman journalist".
  3. ^ Lynda G. Adamson, World Historical Fiction: An Annotated Guide to Novels for Adults and Young Adults. Greenwood Publishing Group ISBN 9781573560665 (p.163)
  4. ^ Browning, John Edgar; Picart, Caroline Joan (2011). Dracula in Visual Media: Film, Television, Comic Book and Electronic Game Appearances, 1921-2010. McFarland. p. 285. ISBN 9780786433650.