Matthew d'Ancona

D'Ancona's father was a Maltese tennis champion of Italian descent who moved to England to study and played youth football for Newcastle United{{cite web|url=http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-week/diary/11310/diary-58/|title=Diary|work=The Spectator}} before becoming a civil servant. His mother was an English teacher. D'Ancona was educated at St Dunstan's College, an independent school for boys in Catford in south London. He went to Magdalen College, Oxford, where he studied Modern History. The same year, he was elected a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford.

After a year studying medieval confession, d'Ancona joined the magazine Index on Censorship, before proceeding to The Times as a trainee. There he rose to become education correspondent and then assistant editor at the age of 26.

He joined The Sunday Telegraph in 1996 as deputy comment editor and columnist, before becoming deputy editor. He wrote a weekly political column in The Sunday Telegraph for a decade; the column was "treated as the best insight into Cameronism by Conservative MPs".{{cite web|url=http://www.totalpolitics.com/articles/277577/top-100-political-journalists-2011.thtml |title=Top 100 political journalists 2011 |work=Total Politics |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301171422/http://www.totalpolitics.com/articles/277577/top-100-political-journalists-2011.thtml |archive-date=1 March 2014 }} He succeeded Boris Johnson as editor of The Spectator. On 28 August 2009 it was announced that d'Ancona would be stepping down as editor to be replaced by Fraser Nelson.

While not himself a believer,Discussed briefly on BBC Radio 3's Essential Classics program, 24 October 2011. d'Ancona is also the co-author of two books on early Christian theology, The Jesus Papyrus {{Cite web|title=The Jesus Papyrus by Matthew D'Ancona: 9780385488983 {{!}} PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books|url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/36003/the-jesus-papyrus-by-matthew-dancona-contribution-by-carsten-peter-thiede/|access-date=2021-03-24|website=PenguinRandomhouse.com|language=en-US}} and The Quest for the True Cross.{{Cite book|last1=Thiede|first1=Carsten Peter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pI8UqAAACAAJ|title=The Quest for the True Cross|last2=D'Ancona|first2=Matthew|date=2000|publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson|isbn=978-0-297-84228-6|language=en}} He has written three novels, Going East,{{Cite book|url=https://www.hodder.co.uk/titles/matthew-dancona-5/going-east/9781444776492/|title=Going East|date=2019-04-24|isbn=9781444776492|language=en-GB|last1=d'Ancona|first1=Matthew|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton }} Tabatha's Code{{Cite book|url=https://www.hodder.co.uk/titles/matthew-dancona-5/going-east/9781444776492/|title=Going East|date=2019-04-24|isbn=9781444776492|language=en-US|last1=d'Ancona|first1=Matthew|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton }} and Nothing to Fear.{{Cite web|date=2008-11-29|title=Nothing to Fear by Matthew d'Ancona|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/nov/29/nothing-fear-matthew-dancona-review|access-date=2021-03-24|website=The Guardian|language=en}} D'Ancona has also written several articles for the British political magazine Prospect.

In January 2015, d'Ancona joined The Guardian as a weekly columnist.[https://www.theguardian.com/gnm-press-office/2014/dec/18/matthew-dancona-to-join-the-guardian-as-columnist "Matthew d'Ancona to join the Guardian as columnist"], Guardian News and Media press release, 18 December 2014 He left the paper in 2019.{{Cite tweet|last=D'Ancona|first=Matthew|user=MatthewdAncona|number=1205801311683465216|title=Hey Rob. Thanks for asking. I am not writing for the Guardian any longer.|date=14 December 2019}} He also writes columns for the Evening Standard, GQ and The New York Times, and a former editor of Tortoise Media.{{cite web |title=Matthew d'Ancona, Editor and Partner |url=https://www.tortoisemedia.com/contributor/matthew-dancona/ |website=Tortoise |access-date=9 June 2022}}

• {{cite book|title=The Jesus Papyrus|last1=D'Ancona|first1=Matthew|last2=Thiede|first2=Carsten|publisher=Phoenix|year=1997|isbn=978-1857999587}}
• {{cite book|title=The Quest For The True Cross|last1=D'Ancona|first1=Matthew|last2=Thiede|first2=Carsten|publisher=Phoenix|year=2000|isbn=978-0753810828}}
• {{cite book|title=Going East|last=D'Ancona|first=Matthew|publisher=Sceptre|year=2004|isbn=978-0340828472}}
• {{cite book|title=Tabatha's Code|last=D'Ancona|first=Matthew|publisher=Alma Books Ltd|year=2006|isbn=978-1846880124}}
• {{cite book|title=Nothing to Fear|last=D'Ancona|first=Matthew|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton|year=2009|isbn=978-0340828496}}
• {{cite book|title=In It Together: The Inside Story of the Coalition Government|last=D'Ancona|first=Matthew|publisher=Penguin|year=2014|isbn=978-0670919956}}
• {{cite book|title=Post-Truth: The New War on Truth and How to Fight Back|last=D'Ancona|first=Matthew|publisher=Ebury Press|year=2017|isbn=978-1785036873}}
• {{cite book|title=Identity, Ignorance, Innovation: Why the old politics is useless - and what to do about it|last=D'Ancona|first=Matthew|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton|year=2021|isbn=978-1785036873}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Wikiquote}}

• [http://www.journalisted.com/matthew-dancona Journalisted - Articles written by Matthew d'Ancona] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080729032637/http://www.journalisted.com/matthew-dancona |date=29 July 2008 }}

{{S-start}}

{{s-media}}

{{succession box | before=Kim Fletcher | title=Deputy Editor of the Sunday Telegraph| years=1998–2006| after=Richard Ellis }}

{{Succession box| before=Boris Johnson | title=Editor of The Spectator| years=2006–2009 | after=Fraser Nelson }}

{{S-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:D'Ancona, Matthew}}

Category:Living people

Category:1968 births

Category:Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford

Category:English male journalists

Category:English magazine editors

Category:Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford

Category:People educated at St Dunstan's College

Category:The Spectator editors

Category:British people of Maltese descent