Anthony Holden, "a polymathic and prolific British author, journalist and poker player who found accidental fame as a royal biographer and critic of the monarchy, but who was happier writing books about Shakespeare, Laurence Olivier and Lorenzo Da Ponte, Mozart's librettist," died October 7 at age 76, the New York Times reported.
Holden was writing the "Atticus" diary column for the Sunday Times in London when, in 1977, he was sent to cover Prince Charles's visit to Canada to open the Calgary Stampede rodeo. The column led to a book deal to write a biography of Charles. When Prince Charles: A Biography was published in 1979, "it was mostly charitably reviewed, even by its subject. Prince Charles told Mr. Holden that he liked the fact that the book depicted a life that 'was not all wine and roses,' " the Times noted.
He continued to receive royalty-themed book deals for works like Their Royal Highnesses: The Prince & Princess of Wales (1981), A Week in the Life of the Royal Family (1983), and Anthony Holden's Royal Quiz (1983). In the late 1980s, his publisher asked him to write a second biography of the prince, which became Charles (1988), a "chilly picture" of the marriage of Charles and Diana.
Recalling the equally chilly reception to the book in his memoir Based on a True Story: A Writer's Life (2021), Holden wrote that the Daily Mail ran a piece declaring he had left his first wife, a "classy pianist," for a "blond American bimbo"; was living the high life in a mansion on the Thames; and had slandered the prince to pay off his gambling debts. What wasn't reported, Holden noted, was that his house and car were ransacked more than once, and that his research material about Prince Charles was stolen.
Holden wrote more than 30 books, including William Shakespeare: The Man Behind the Genius (2000); Laurence Olivier (1988); The Wit in the Dungeon: The Life of Leigh Hunt (2005); Behind the Oscars: The Secret History of the Academy Awards (1993); Big Deal: One Year as a Professional Poker Player (1990); and The Tarnished Crown (1993).
"Tony was a real scholar," said Tina Brown, the author and magazine editor, who was a longtime friend. "He was immensely talented, but he did it with such a light touch. He could write the best gossip column. He was the person you turned to to do the elegant, smart take--very fast." She called him "the classic Grub Street reporter," adding that the "royal stuff was almost a pass-through situation, but he did it brilliantly."
A serious stroke in 2017 "barely slowed him down as he typed every day with his one good right hand and gave lunches where doctors' advice was ignored and bottles were opened." His final book was Based on a True Story: A Writer's Life (2021)," the Guardian reported, adding: "In a trade where schadenfreude is often the norm, Tony was the loyalist of loyal friends, which is why he had so many all his life."
