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{{Short description|British writer}}
{{EngvarB|date=June 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{RefimproveMore citations needed|date=September 2014}}▼
{{other people|Christopher Sykes}}
'''Christopher Hugh Sykes''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|FRSL}} (17 November 1907 – 8 December 1986) was an English authorwriter. Born into a well-offthe [[Northern England|northern English]] landowning [[Sykes family of Sledmere|family]], he was the second son of the diplomat [[Mark Sykes|Sir Mark Sykes]] (1879–1919), and his wife, Edith (née Gorst). His sister was [[Angela Sykes]], the sculptor. His politician uncle, also [[Christopher Sykes (politician)|Christopher Sykes]], was, for a time, a close friend of [[Edward VII]].<ref name="records">[http://records.ancestry.com/christopher_hugh_sykes_records.ashx?pid=28400766 Profile], records.ancestry.com. Retrieved 4 September 2014.</ref>▼
▲{{Refimprove|date=September 2014}}
 
▲'''Christopher Hugh Sykes''' FRSL (17 November 1907 – 8 December 1986) was an English author. Born into a well-off [[Northern England|northern English]] landowning [[Sykes family of Sledmere|family]], he was the second son of the diplomat [[Mark Sykes|Sir Mark Sykes]] (1879–1919), and his wife, Edith (née Gorst). His sister was [[Angela Sykes]], the sculptor. His uncle, also Christopher Sykes, was, for a time, a close friend of [[Edward VII]].<ref name="records">[http://records.ancestry.com/christopher_hugh_sykes_records.ashx?pid=28400766 Profile], records.ancestry.com. Retrieved 4 September 2014.</ref>
 
==Life and career==
Educated at [[Downside School]] and [[Christ Church, Oxford|Christ Church]], [[University of Oxford|Oxford]], Sykes was, for a time in his youth, in the Foreign Office, including a stint as an attaché (1928–29) in the [[British Embassy in Berlin]], where [[Harold Nicolson]] was then Counsellor. This was followed by a year (1930–31) at the [[British Legation in Teheran]]. An early hero was [[Aubrey Herbert]], remembered now as the man who inspired [[John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir|John Buchan]]'s classic thriller, ''[[Greenmantle]]''. {{citation needed|date=September 2014}}
 
Though Sykes thought ofcontemplated making politics his career, he thought that his stammer and also his artistic and imaginative disposition indicatedwould thattell politicalagainst lifehis wassuccess notin forparliamentary himlife. At the [[School of Oriental and African Studies|School of Oriental Studies]] in London, he devoted himself to Persian studies in 1933 before travelling in Central Asia during 1933–34 with [[Robert Byron]], who later wrote ''[[The Road to Oxiana]]'' recounting their long expedition in what was then an almost unexplored country. In the book, Byron states that Sykes was given an order to leave Persia, but theythat couldafter negotiatenegotiations thathad been carried out, he leaveswas able to depart freely from the country, via Afghanistan, within Byron's company.<ref name="oxiana">{{cite book|last=Byron|first=Robert|title=The Road to Oxiana|year=1982|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195030679|page=[https://archive.org/details/roadtooxiana00byro_0/page/220 220]|title-link=The Road to Oxiana}}</ref>
 
OnAfter their returnreturning to England, Sykes and Byron wrote a novel together under the name of Richard Waughburton, ''Innocence and Design'', published in 1935. A little later, Sykes and [[Cyril Connolly]] planned a book with the title of ''The Little Voice''. In common with other projects of Connolly's, the book never got beyond the planning stages. Sykes published in 1936 a biography of the German Persianist [[Wilhelm WassmusWassmuss]]; he did not, during later years, include this volume in his list of his publications. A memoir of Byron, killed at sea in 1941, was included in Sykes' best-selling book, ''Four Studies in Loyalty''.<ref>Four Studies in Loyalty&nbsp; by Christopher Sykes.&nbsp; Publisher: William Sloane, 1948. Kirkus review: [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/christopher-sykes-2/four-studies-in-loyalty/]</ref>
 
Sykes had an eventful war. Having held, like his famous father, a [[Territorial Army (United Kingdom)|Territorial Army]] commission in [[The Green Howards]] in 1927–30, he was commissioned in 1939 as a reserve officer in the regiment's newly formed 7th Battalion. In June 1940, Sykes joined [[Special Operations 1 - Propaganda|SO1]] (later [[Special Operations Executive]] [SOE]), where he was personal assistant to Colonel [[Cudbert Thornhill]]. In October 1941, Sykes was sent out to Tehran as Deputy Director of Special Propaganda (DDSP) under diplomatic cover (Second Secretary at the British Legation) in the aftermath of the [[Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran]], where he remained until November 1942, when he was transferred to Cairo. Out of a job because his department had been wound up, Sykes found time to write a light novel, ''High Minded Murder'' (1944), something of a ''roman à clef'', set in wartime Cairo where Graham Greene's sister Elizabeth was living(Sykes mentions Greene himself in his biography of Waugh). Meanwhile, after failing to find any position as an intelligence officer in the Middle East, Sykes returned to the UK in May 1943, volunteered for the [[Special Air Service]] (SAS), and was posted to the Commando Training Depot at [[Achnacarry Castle]], Invernesshire on 1 July 1943. As an SAS officer, Sykes, who spoke fluent French but could not pass as a native, undertook extremely hazardous work with the [[French Resistance]]: an experience which, like his friendship with Byron, was depicted in ''Four Studies in Loyalty'' (dedicated to the town of Vosges), this time in that book's last chapter.<ref name="Kew">See HS 9/1433/9, The National Archives, Kew. This is Sykes' (D/N11) SOE personnel file, which outlines his military career.</ref>
 
During October 1941, Sykes was sent out to Tehran as Deputy Director of Special Propaganda under diplomatic cover (Second Secretary at the British Legation) in the aftermath of the [[Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran]], where he remained until November 1942, when he was transferred to Cairo. Out of a job because his department had been wound up, Sykes found time to write a light novel, ''High Minded Murder'' (1944), something of a ''roman à clef'', set in wartime Cairo where Graham Greene's sister Elizabeth was living (Sykes repeatedly mentions Greene in his biography of Waugh). Meanwhile, after failing to find any position as an intelligence officer in the Middle East, Sykes returned to the UK in May 1943, volunteered for the [[Special Air Service]] (SAS), and was posted to the Commando Training Depot at [[Achnacarry Castle]], Invernesshire on 1 July 1943.
Nowadays Sykes is especially remembered for his biography of his friend [[Evelyn Waugh]], whom he met after the success of Waugh's ''Vile Bodies''. He introduced Waugh to the socialite Diana Cooper, aka Lady Stitch. He praised ''Brideshead'', Waugh's Catholic epic (the two were both Catholics, but with the notable difference—mentioned by Waugh's son [[Auberon Waugh|Auberon]] when reviewing Sykes's book in the November 1975 issue of ''Books and Bookmen'' – that whereas Waugh converted to Roman Catholicism in his twenties, Sykes was a cradle Catholic) though admitting to his dislike of the character Julia Flyte. Sykes makes some interesting comparisons between scenes in Waugh's books and those of William M Thackeray - the fox hunting scene in a ''Handful of Dust'' is compared to that in ''Barry Lyndon.''▼
 
As an SAS officer, Sykes, who spoke fluent French but could not pass as a native, undertook extremely hazardous work with the [[French Resistance]]. His experiences in this regard were, like his friendship with Byron, depicted in ''Four Studies in Loyalty'' (dedicated to the town of Vosges), this time in that book's last chapter.<ref name="Kew">See HS 9/1433/9, The National Archives, Kew. This is Sykes' (D/N11) SOE personnel file, which outlines his military career.</ref>
Sykes is also remembered to a lesser extent, for his history of the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate of Palestine]], ''Crossroads to Israel'' (1965). He also wrote several books of fiction and lives of [[Orde Wingate]] (published 1959 - Sykes drew attention to Wingate as the possible basis for Waugh's character Brigadier Ritchie Hook in ''The Sword of Honour'' trilogy, in his biography of Waugh) the general sometimes known as the "[[Thomas Edward Lawrence|Lawrence]] of Judea" (a phrase that Wingate deplored); [[Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor|Lady Astor]], who, born in Virginia, was one of the first women to sit in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom]]; and [[Adam von Trott zu Solz]], executed following his part in the failed [[20 July plot]] to assassinate Hitler. {{citation needed|date=September 2014}}
 
▲Nowadays Sykes iswill be especially remembered for his 1975 biography of his friend [[Evelyn Waugh]]. While both men had attended [[Oxford University|Oxford]], whombut hea few years remote from each other, Sykes and Waugh met only after the success of Waugh's ''[[Vile Bodies]]'', 1930. He introduced Waugh, toas thea socialitematter of course, to [[Lady Diana Cooper]]. Waugh would create one of his great personalities drawn from her characteristics and ways, aka[[Mrs. LadyStitch|Julia Stitch]], in [[Scoop (novel)|Scoop]], 1938. HeSykes praised ''[[Brideshead Revisited|Brideshead]]'', Waugh's Catholic epic; (the two were both Catholics, but with the notable difference—mentioneddifference — mentioned by Waugh's son [[Auberon Waugh|Auberon]] when reviewing Sykes's book in the NovemberOctober 1975 issue of ''Books and Bookmen''<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Waugh |first1=Auberon |title=[A. Waugh review of C. Sykes, Evelyn Waugh] |journal=Books and Bookmen |date=1975 |issue=October |pages=7–9}}</ref> – that whereas Waugh converted to Roman Catholicism in his twenties, Sykes was a cradle Catholic). thoughSykes admittingnonetheless censured some of Waugh's writing, and admitted to hisa dislike of the character of Julia Flyte, noting that nobody had yet identified a model for her in contemporary society. Also Sykes makes some interesting comparisons between scenes in Waugh's books and those of [[William MMakepeace Thackeray|Thackeray]]: -for instance, the fox -hunting scene in a ''A Handful of Dust'' is compared to that in ''Barry Lyndon.''
After 1945 Sykes worked for many years in [[BBC Radio]], where he helped to get Waugh's broadcast on P G Wodehouse, who was captured in Le Touquet by the Germnas, on air, as well as writing for several British and American periodicals, including ''[[The New Republic]]'', ''[[The Spectator]]'', ''Books and Bookmen'', ''[[The Observer]]'' and the short-lived ''English Review Magazine''. He was invested as a Fellow of the [[Royal Society of Literature]]. {{citation needed|date=September 2014}}▼
 
Sykes is also remembered to a lesser extent, for his history of the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate of Palestine]], ''Crossroads to Israel'' (1965). Of his half-dozen novels, none attained great popularity or fame.
 
In general Sykes was better suited to non-fiction. Other biographies by him included a life of [[Orde Wingate]] (published 1959), which drew attention to Wingate as the possible basis for Waugh's character Brigadier Ritchie-Hook in ''The Sword of Honour'' trilogy. Sometimes Wingate was referred to as "[[Thomas Edward Lawrence|Lawrence]] of Judea" (a phrase that Wingate deplored).
 
Two subsequent Sykes biographies which achieved substantial renown dealt with, respectively, [[Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor|Lady Astor]] and [[Adam von Trott zu Solz]]. Lady Astor, born in Virginia, was one of the first women to sit in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom]]; while Trott zu Solz met a tragic and early death, judicially murdered by the Nazis for having taken part in the failed [[20 July plot|1944 plot]] to assassinate Hitler.
 
▲After 1945 Sykes worked for many years in [[BBC Radio]], where he helped to get Waugh's broadcast ontribute Pto [[P.G. Wodehouse,]] (who washad been captured in Le Touquet by the Germnas,Germans) on the air, asagainst considerable opposition from Waugh's enemies. wellFrequently asSykes writingwrote for several British and American periodicals, including ''[[The New Republic]]'', ''[[The Spectator]]'', ''Books and Bookmen'', ''[[The Observer]]'' and the short-lived ''English Review Magazine''. He was invested as a Fellow of the [[Royal Society of Literature]]. {{citation needed|date=September 2014}}
 
==Marriage and family==
He married Camilla Georgiana, daughter of Sir [[Thomas Wentworth Russell]] (great-grandson of the 6th [[John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford|6th Duke of Bedford]])<ref>[http://www.thepeerage.com/p4663.htm#i46629 Profile], thepeerage.com. Retrieved 29 June 2016.</ref> on 25 October 1936.<ref name="records"/> Their son, Mark Richard Sykes (born 9 June 1937), by his second marriage, is father to six children including New York- City based fashion writer and novelist [[Plum Sykes]]. The writerWriter and photographer, [[Christopher Simon Sykes,]] is a nephew. {{citation needed|date=September 2014}} Writer/ and journalist Tom Sykes is a grandson.<ref>Tom Sykes, [http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/25/this-is-my-half-of-the-castle-the-eccentric-living-arrangements-of-aristocrats.html "This Is My Half of the Castle: The Eccentric Living Arrangements of Aristocrats," Daily Beast, 25 August 2016.]</ref>
 
==Bibliography==
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* ''A Song of a Shirt'', a novel (1953)
* "Two Studies in Virtue", two essays (1955)
* ''[[Noblesse Oblige (book)|Noblesse Oblige]]'' (1956), [[Noblesse Oblige (book)#"What U-Future?" by Christopher Sykes|contribution]]
* ''Orde Wingate'', a biography (1959)
* ''Crossroads to Israel'' (1965)
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==Sources==
* ''Dictionary of National Biography''
* [[Artemis Cooper|Cooper, Artemis]], ''Cairo in the War, 19901939-1945''. <!-- ISBN,London: publishingHamish infoHamilton, year,1989 pages, all needed -->{{ISBN|0241132800}}
 
==References==
{{reflist|}}
 
== External links ==
 
* [[hdl:10079/fa/beinecke.sykes|Christopher Sykes Papers]]. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
{{Authority control}}
 
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[[Category:1907 births]]
[[Category:1986 deaths]]
[[Category:Younger sons of baronets]]
[[Category:English biographers]]
[[Category:English journalists]]
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[[Category:People educated at Downside School]]
[[Category:Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford]]
[[Category:Alumni of SOAS, University of London]]
[[Category:Special Air Service soldiers]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing]]
[[Category:Place of death missing]]
[[Category:20th-century British biographers]]
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