Jasper Ridley

Jasper Godwin Ridley, FRSL (25 May 1920 – 1 July 2004) was a British writer, known for historical biographies.

He received the 1970 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his biography of Lord Palmerston.

Born in West Hoathly, Sussex, he was educated at Felcourt School, Magdalen College, Oxford, and the Sorbonne.

He trained and practised as a barrister, having been called to the bar by the Inner Temple in 1945, before starting to write.

He served on St Pancras Borough Council from 1945 to 1949, and stood, unsuccessfully, as Labour Party candidate for Winchester in 1955 general election.