Simon Edge
Born (1964-12-25) December 25, 1964
Chester, England
Occupation(s)Novelist and journalist
Known for
Notable work
  • The Hopkins Conundrum (2017)
  • The End of the World is Flat (2021)
Websitewww.simon-edge.com

Simon John Edge (born 25 December 1964 in Chester, England) is a British novelist and journalist.

Educated at the King's School, Chester,[1] he went on to receive a master's degree in philosophy from St Catharine's College, Cambridge[2] and has a master's degree in Creative Writing from City University,[3] where he also taught as a visiting lecturer.

He got his first job in journalism at the Middle East business magazine MEED[3] and went on to be the final editor of Capital Gay. He was on staff at the London Evening Standard and joined the Daily Express in 1999, where he spent many years as a feature writer and theatre critic.[4] He is a former senior contributing editor of Attitude magazine.[5]

He is the author of With Friends Like These,[6] a critique of the Left's record on gay rights.

Edge has written six novels, all published by Lightning Books.[7] His first novel, The Hopkins Conundrum (2017), was based on the life of poet Gerard Manley Hopkins.[8] It was described by The Spectator as "a pleasurable literary thriller [in which] Edge wears his Hopkins learning lightly,"[9] and by the Daily Express as "enjoyable on every level."[10] It was longlisted for the Waverton Good Read Award 2017–18.[11] His second novel, The Hurtle of Hell (2018), was inspired by scientific research into what happens in the brain during a near-death experience.[12] His third, A Right Royal Face-Off (2019), is a comic novel based on the life of painter Thomas Gainsborough, and has been described by Gainsborough authority Hugh Belsey as "beguiling" and "beautifully managed and brilliantly resolved."[13] His fourth novel, Anyone for Edmund? (2020), imagines the rediscovery of the body of Edmund the Martyr, England's lost patron saint. The i said "Edge's sharp-edged political comedy is guaranteed to have you laughing out loud".[14] His fifth novel, The End of the World is Flat (2021), was blurbed by Francis Wheen as a "bracingly sharp satire on the sleep of reason and the tyranny of twaddle."[15] The Times called it "nifty, often snort-inducingly funny satire".[16] His sixth novel, In the Beginning, was published in June 2023.[17] Writing in The Critic Josephine Bartosch described it as "a pacy satire" and as "a stylish retelling of the Maya Forstater tribunal".[18]

Edge was married to Ezio Alessandroni, a former Roman Catholic priest, until the latter's death from cancer in March 2017.[19]

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ Cambridge University List of Members 84 Supplement - University of Cambridge. 1985. ISBN 9780521314299. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Simon Edge | Eye Books". Eye-books.com. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  4. ↑ Shenton, Mark (13 October 2014). "Bidding farewell to yet another theatre critic | Opinion". The Stage. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "About GETA". Geta-europe.org. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  6. ↑ With Friends Like These : Marxism and Gay Politics (Lesbian & gay studies): Amazon.co.uk: Simon Edge: 9780304333202: Books. 1 July 1995. ASIN 0304333204.
  7. ↑ "About Simon Edge". Eye Books. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  8. ↑ "The Hopkins Conundrum by Simon Edge | Eye Books". Eye-books.com. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  9. ↑ Brinkley, Frank (29 June 2017). "A choice of first novels". The Spectator. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  10. ↑ Heathcote, Charlotte (19 May 2017). "Book reviews: Uncommon People, The Hopkins Conundrum and more". Daily Express. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  11. ↑ "Longlist 2017". Waverton Good Read Award. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  12. ↑ Edge, Simon (28 June 2018). "My near-death experience". Daily Express. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  13. ↑ "A Right Royal Face-Off by Simon Edge". Eye Books. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  14. ↑ "A bumper guide of this year's 75 essential summer reads to enjoy by the pool or in the garden". i. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  15. ↑ "The End of the World is Flat". Lightning Books. August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  16. ↑ Murphy, Siobhan. "Our pick of the latest fiction: three new novels, October 2, 2021". The Times. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  17. ↑ "In the Beginning". Eye Books. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  18. ↑ Bartosch, Josephine (8 June 2023). "Cutting Edge: A new novel brilliantly skewers gender theory". The Critic. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  19. ↑ Winq magazine, Summer 2017, 'A Mass-Going Atheist'.
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