Simon Jones Popular Books
Simon Jones Biography & Facts
Simon Jones (born 27 July 1950) is an English actor. He portrayed Arthur Dent, protagonist of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on radio in 1978 and again on television in 1981. Jones also appeared in the film The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005) in a cameo role. He also played the role of Donald Shellhammer in Miracle on 34th Street (1994), appeared in Brideshead Revisited as Lord Brideshead, and as King George V in the film Downton Abbey. Career Jones appeared in various television series, including Brideshead Revisited (in which he played the Earl of Brideshead, or 'Bridey', heir to the Marquess of Marchmain), and the second series of Blackadder (playing Sir Walter Raleigh). His films have included Club Paradise, Privates on Parade, Miracle on 34th Street and The Devil's Own. Jones studied at King's College, Taunton, before going up to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he was a member of the Footlights and met Douglas Adams. This led to Jones being cast in Out of the Trees and later The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The latter project, a radio broadcast from 1978, would be the first of Jones's several portrayals of Arthur Dent; Adams claimed to Jones that he wrote the part of Dent with him in mind. In Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, Jones had a minor role as one of the guests at the dinner party which is interrupted by the Grim Reaper. He has also appeared in some of the solo film projects of the members of Monty Python: Privates on Parade (with John Cleese) American Friends (with Michael Palin), and Brazil and 12 Monkeys (both directed by Terry Gilliam). Jones has appeared in many Broadway plays, including The Real Thing (1985, as Max), Benefactors (1985, as Colin), Getting Married (1991, as Reginald Bridgenorth), Private Lives (1992, as Elyot Chase), The Real Inspector Hound (as Moon) and The Fifteen Minute Hamlet (as Hamlet - which played together in 1992), The School for Scandal (1995, as Joseph Surface), Ring Round the Moon (1999, as Romainville) and Waiting in the Wings (1999, as Perry Lascoe). In 2009, Jones appeared in Blithe Spirit, as Dr. Bradman, supported by Angela Lansbury and Rupert Everett; and in 2018 he portrayed John Rich, in Farinelli and the King starring Mark Rylance, from January through March. Off-Broadway he has a long list of credits, and was nominated for the 1990 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play for his role in Privates on Parade. In regional theatre at the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, Jones starred as Christopher Gore in the American premier of Brian Friel's The Home Place in late 2007; he returned there in late 2008 to portray C. S. Lewis in Shadowlands. In 2015 he played the Man in Chair in Drowsy Chaperone at Cape Playhouse in Massachusetts, and immediately afterwards went to Sag Harbor to play Major Bouvier and Norman Vincent Peale in Grey Gardens with Rachel York and Betty Buckley, again directed by Michael Wilson; this same production went to Los Angeles in 2016 at the Ahmanson Theatre. Jones is also a voice actor and audiobook narrator, with more than 70 titles to his credit. Among them are: The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul for Simon and Schuster Audioworks for the US market Star Trek: Cacophony, playing Lt. Commander Stewart Mulligan in an original "Captain Sulu Adventures" audio programme, again for Simon and Schuster The Salmon of Doubt, for New Millennium Audio Douglas Adams at the BBC, for BBC Audio The Bartimaeus Sequence by Jonathan Stroud: The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem's Eye, Ptolemy's Gate, The Ring of Solomon A Slight Trick of the Mind by Mitch Cullin, which won the Audio Publishers Association's 2006 Audie Award for Unabridged Fiction. And Another Thing..., the sixth instalment of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, written by Eoin Colfer. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr In 2003, Jones reprised his role as Arthur Dent in a new radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. In the same year he was involved in the filming of the film version of the first novel, making a brief cameo appearance in the role of the holographic Magrathean answering machine/automated defence system. In 2009, Jones was heard as master detective Sexton Blake on BBC Radio 2 in the six-part series, The Adventures of Sexton Blake!. In addition to his work as an actor, Jones is also a co-artistic director at New York Off-Broadway company the Actors' Company Theatre (TACT), where he played the role of Jack in the play Home by David Storey. In 2010, Jones joined in the Irish Repertory Theatre's production of A Child's Christmas in Wales, a concert version of the Dylan Thomas work. This ran from 8 December 2009 to 2 January 2010. In 2011, Jones played Piero Soderini in Divine Rivalry — a new play by Michael Kramer, directed by Michael Wilson, and produced by the Shubert Organisation – at the Hartford Stage Theatre in Hartford, Connecticut. Jones had played this part in several previous readings of the play. Later in the year, he was in a new musical version of Death Takes a Holiday, from the book by Tom Meehan and Peter Stone, with music by Maury Yeston; it. It ran in New York City, at the Roundabout's Laura Pels Theatre, from 7 July to 4 September. A CD was released shortly afterwards. From there, Jones returned to London, where he attended the opening night of No Naughty Bits, at the Hampstead Theatre on 13 September. The play, by Steve Thompson, was the story of Jones's wife, Nancy Lewis, and the Monty Python team's lawsuit against ABC-TV in America. In 2012 Jones played David Bliss, husband of Harriet Harris, in Hay Fever at the Guthrie Theatre, directed by Jones' friend Chris Luscombe. Jones then appeared (in the role of Sir Francis Beekman), with Megan Hilty starring in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes at ENCORES! concert series at City Center in New York City, which also resulted in CD. Later in the year, he went to the UK, where he starred in a national stage tour of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy – Live! In the summer of 2013, Jones went to East Hampton, New York, where Tony Walton directed him in a production of Tonight at 8:30, featuring three of Noël Coward's short plays. Blythe Danner was the co-star, and they performed "Hands Across the Sea", "Family Album" and "Red Peppers". This was followed by another UK stage tour of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy – Live! The tour of Blithe Spirit, starring Angela Lansbury, then went to London's West End in early 2014. This was accompanied by an appearance at a special cabaret (organised by co-star Janie Dee) at the Cafe de Paris, where he sang "Mad Dogs and Englishmen". That June, he portrayed Emperor Joseph II in Amadeus, starring Rupert Everett. This was followed by BBC Radio appearances in Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett's Good Omens, directed by Dirk Maggs, and Doctor Who with Tom Baker. The year ended with Blithe Spirit once again – still with Lansbury – on a North American tour. In 2018, Jones was once again playing .... 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Best Seller Simon Jones Books of 2024
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Restoration
Tim HarrisThe late seventeenth century was a period of extraordinary turbulence and political violence in Britain, the like of which has never been seen since. Beginning with the Restoration...
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Secrets of the Dead
Tom HarperFans of Dan Brown, Clive Cussler and Scott Mariani will love this highoctane, edgeofyourseat international thriller from the pen of prizewinning author Tom Harper. It has everythin...
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The Prawn Cocktail Years
Lindsey Bareham & Simon HopkinsonWhile Lindsey Bareham was helping Simon Hopkinson put together his bestselling book, Roast Chicken and Other Stories, the two of them began to reminisce about hotel and restaurant ...
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Alias Simon Suggs
William Stanley HooleA study of realism and folk literature and of the sources and techniques of storytellingAlias Simon Suggs is a study in the life and writings of Johnson J. Hooper of Alabama, and i...
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Hungry Beat
Douglas MacIntyre & Grant McPhee'Hungry Beat is the story of an alltoobrief era where the shortcircuiting of that industry seemed viable. But hell, the times were luminous as was the music these artists made. The...
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Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
Eric IdleNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the ingenious comic performer, founding member of Monty Python, and creator of Spamalot (now back on Broadway!), comes an absurdly funny memoir...
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I Never Knew That About Royal Britain
Christopher WinnWith the royal wedding around the corner, there no better time than the present to get acquainted with Royal BritainBestselling author Christopher Winn explores Britain's royal pa...
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Flight or Fright
Stephen King#1 New York Times bestselling author and master of horror Stephen King teams up with Bev Vincent of Cemetery Dance to present a terrifying collection of sixteen short stories (and ...
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The Revolution Was Televised
Alan SepinwallA phenomenal account, newly updated, of how twelve innovative television dramas transformed the medium and the culture at large, featuring Sepinwall’s take on the finales of Mad Me...
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Tanya Bakes
Tanya BurrYoutuber and actress Tanya Burr is back with her very first cookbook, sharing her passion for baking and all her favourite recipes. As well as cakes and bakes, readers will love Ta...
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Abolish the Monarchy
Graham Smith'A crucial, riveting polemic in support of one of the most precious things humanity has built democracy itself' OWEN JONES'Graham Smith shows what fools our rotten constitution ma...
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Hatchepsut
Joyce TyldesleyQueen or, as she would prefer to be remembered King Hatchepsut was an astonishing woman. Brilliantly defying tradition she became the female embodiment of a male role, dressing i...
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The Art of Winning
Dan CarterInstant Sunday Times bestsellerTen timeless truths on leadership, purpose and potential from the unique culture of the All Blacks, and the mind of a living legend.You might think ...
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The Magnificent Sons
Justin MyersPreorder the new sharp, hilarious Justin Myers novel, LEADING MAN, now!'Funny, beautifully observed and moving' Adam KayTwo brothers. Two different journeys. The same hope of a mag...
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Sensing the Rhythm
Mandy Harvey & Mark Atteberry“Mandy will never let deafness silence her, and she has aptly proven that deaf people can do anything.” Marlee Matlin, Academy Award® winner and star of the 2022 Oscar® winning fil...
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Crusader
Ben KaneKING. POLITICIAN. WARRIOR. CONQUEROR.1189. Richard the Lionheart's longawaited goal comes true as he is crowned King of England. Setting his own kingdom in order, he prepares to em...
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Down South
Chris ParryDown South by Chris Parry one man's astonishing diary of war in the Falklands'A gripping account of heroism and chaos in the South Atlantic' Mail on Sunday'Compelling, gripping...
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Empire
Jeremy PaxmanFrom the bestselling author of The English comes Empire, Jeremy Paxman's history of the British Empire accompanied by a flagship 5part BBC TV series, for readers of Simon Schama a...
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The Samurai Inheritance
James DouglasJamie Saintclair embarks on another fullthrottle historical adventure an absolute pageturner! If you love Dan Brown, Chris Kuzneski and Scott Mariani you will love this! READERS ...
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The Lazarus Vault
Tom HarperFrom the pen of prizewinning author Tom Harper, this is a highoctane adventure thriller in the bestselling tradition of The Da Vinci Code. With a lingering sense of tension and une...
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Stephen Jones
Simon Roberts & Stephen JonesSince making his national debut in 1998, Stephen Jones has emerged from the shadows of the true greats of Welsh rugby, such as Barry John, Phil Bennett, Jonathan Davies and Neil Je...
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The Making of the British Landscape
Francis PryorThis is the changing story of Britain as it has been preserved in our fields, roads, buildings, towns and villages, mountains, forests and islands. From our suburban streets that s...
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The Seekers
John Densmore & Viggo MortensenThe iconic drummer of The Doors investigates his own relationship with creativity and explores the meaning of artistry with other artists and performers in this compelling and spel...
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The Doomsday Testament
James DouglasFrom bestselling author James Douglas, a gripping and enthralling historical conspiracy thriller a must read for fans of Dan Brown, James Becker and Chris Kuzneski.READERS ARE LOV...
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Sepinwall On Mad Men and Breaking Bad
Alan SepinwallFrom the updated edition of The Revolution Was Televised, Alan Sepinwall’s analysis of Breaking Bad and Mad Men, featuring new commentary and insights on the complete series and co...
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The Ultimate Leadership Book
Carol O'Connor, Sue Stockdale, Clive Steeper & Martin ManserIf you want to be the best, you have to have the right skillset. From decision making and motivating people to vision and inspiration, THE ULTIMATE LEADERSHIP BOOK is a dynamic col...
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Magna Carta
Prof David Carpenter'David Carpenter deserves to replace Sir James Holt as the standard authority, and an unfailingly readable one too.' Ferdinand Mount, TLS 'An invaluable new commentary' Jill Leopor...
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The Hummingbird Bakery Life is Sweet
Tarek MaloufThe brilliant new book from Britain’s favourite bakery – packed with recipes for extraspecial treats and surprises.Delving into the wonderful world of American homebaking, this is ...
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Selected Journalism 1850-1870
Charles Dickens & David PascoeThroughout his writing career Charles Dickens was a hugely prolific journalist. This volume of his later work is selected from pieces that he wrote after he founded the journal Hou...
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Great Irish Reportage
John HorganReports and dispatches from Ireland's finest writers: the firstever anthology of Irish reportage.Alongside its worldfamous tradition of great fiction, Ireland has a less well known...
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Venus and Aphrodite
Bettany Hughes'Lively' THE TIMES'Engrossing' THE SPECTATOR'Stunning' WOMAN & HOME'Marvellous' BBC HISTORY MAGAZINEThrough ancient art, evocative myth, intriguing archaeological discoveries a...
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Overpaid, Oversexed and Over There
David HepworthThe Beatles landing in New York in February 1964 was the opening shot in a cultural revolution nobody predicted. Suddenly the youth of the richest, most powerful nation on earth wa...
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Beyond Hope
Bariz ShahA powerful story of how one man didn't let other people define him'Bariz gifts us his truthtelling, delivered with unwavering optimism.' Matt Brown, author of She Is Not Your Rehab...
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Competition is Killing Us
Michelle MeagherWe live in the age of big companies where rising levels of power are concentrated in the hands of a few. Yet no government or organisation has the power to regulate these titans an...
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Postcards to Europe
Various AuthorsThis is not a book about politics. It is a book about what makes us British, and what makes us European.Spend time with some of your favourite writers and artists in this truly uni...
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Records of Shelley, Byron and the Author
Edward John TrelawnyIn February 1822 the writer and adventurer Edward John Trelawny arrived in Pisa to make the acquaintance of his heroes Shelley and Byron, leaving a broken marriage and an exotic se...
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The Mammoth Book of Great British Humour
Michael PowellA doorstopper of a collection of the very best of both contemporary and classic British wit and humour. From Monty Python's 'Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more . . .' to Dan An...
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The Book of Secrets
Tom HarperFrom the pen of prizewinning author Tom Harper, this is a highoctane adventure thriller in the bestselling tradition of The Da Vinci Code. Jampacked with murder, mystery and mindbl...
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Our Story
Union JJoin Union J as they embark on their journey to become THE next big boyband in Our Story!Only a few months ago Union J were just average guys, dreaming of performing on the X Facto...
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The Falling Sword
Ben KaneCAN GREECE RESIST THE MIGHT OF ROME?Get ready for the climax of the Roman invasion of Greece in Sunday Times bestseller Ben Kane's latest historical adventure.ONE FINAL CLASHReelin...
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Liquid History
John WarlandTHE PERFECT GIFT FOR THOSE WHO LOVE LONDON.A RADIO 4 BEST FOOD AND DRINK BOOK OF THE YEAR.An illustrated guide to London's best pubs and their extraordinary history, presented by t...
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365 Steps to Self-Confidence 4th Edition
David Lawrence PrestonConfidence is crucial to a happy and fulfilling life. And yet many of us lack confidence and selfbelief. As a result, we are less adventurous and less likely to get the most out of...