Alex Renton
Alex Renton FRHistS (born 5 March 1961) is a British-Canadian journalist and broadcaster. He is the author of several historical and investigative books including Blood Legacy: reckoning with a family's story of slavery,[1] and Stiff Upper Lip: secrets, crimes and the schooling of a ruling class.[2]
Alex Renton | |
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Born | Toronto, Canada | March 5, 1961
Nationality | UK/Canada |
Education | Ashdown House Eton College |
Occupation | Writer |
Known for | Investigative journalism, history |
Parents |
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Website | alexrenton |
Early life and education
Renton was born in Toronto, Canada, on 5 March 1961, the oldest child of the politician Tim Renton, Baron Renton of Mount Harry and the novelist and historian Alice Blanche Helen Fergusson. He was educated at Ashdown House, East Sussex, Eton College, Brighton College and Exeter University.
Career
As a journalist he has held staff jobs as a reporter and editor on British newspapers The Independent and the London Evening Standard. He has been a columnist for The Times and a Scotland-based correspondent for Newsweek magazine. He has won awards for foreign reporting, investigative journalism and food writing.[3] He worked in Asia for Oxfam from 2001 to 2004. There he began writing about food cultures, poverty and food policy. [4]
Renton was presenter and reporter on Exposure – Boarding Schools, the Secret Shame, a 55-minute investigative documentary broadcast by Britain's ITV channel in February 2018.[5]
Renton's book Blood Legacy, an account of his ancestors' involvement in the Atlantic slave trade and plantation slavery in the Caribbean, was long-listed for the Baillie Gifford Prize in September 2021.
Selected publications
- 13 Foods that shape our world (2022) ISBN 9781785947384
- Blood Legacy: reckoning with a family's story of slavery (2021) ISBN 9781786898869
- Stiff Upper Lip: secrets, crimes and the schooling of a ruling class (2017) ISBN 9781474600545
- Planet Carnivore: why cheap meat costs the Earth (2014) ISBN 9781536643381
Personal life
Renton married the journalist Ruth Valerie Burnett in 2002. They have a son and daughter.
References
- Andrew Anthony (1 January 1970). "Blood Legacy: reckoning with a family's story of slavery – review | Books". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
- Andrew Anthony (1 January 1970). "Stiff Upper Lip: Secrets, Crimes and the Schooling of a Ruling Class – review | Books". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
- "Stiff Upper Lip review: A book that asks 'powerful questions that parents can't ignore' - Country Life". Country Life. 25 April 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
- "Bee Wilson reviews 'Farmageddon' by Philip Lymbery, with Isabel Oakeshott and 'Planet Carnivore' by Alex Renton · LRB 20 March 2014". Lrb.co.uk. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
- Hogan, Michael (19 February 2018). "Boarding Schools: The Secret Shame – Exposure review: a raw and emotional exploration of systematic failure of abuse victims" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.