Diana Thomas (writer) explained

Diana Thomas
Pseudonym:Tom Cain
Birth Name:David Thomas
Birth Date:17 January 1959
Occupation:Author
Education:King's College, Cambridge (BA)
Relatives:Susan Thomas (mother)
Genre:Thriller
Notableworks:Samuel Carver series
Awards:Young Journalist of the Year[1]

Diana Thomas (formerly David Thomas; born 17 January 1959), better known by the pen name Tom Cain,[1] [2] is an English journalist and author of a series of thriller novels about protagonist Samuel Carver.

Biography

Thomas' mother was the Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Thomas of Walliswood.[3] Her father was a British diplomat, David Churchill Thomas.For the first few years of her life, Thomas lived in Moscow and she has also lived in Washington, D.C., and Havana, Cuba. She was educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, where she read History of Art.[4]

She spent 25 years as a journalist,[5] working for publications such as The Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday.[1] She was mocked in Private Eye for her frequent contributions to these newspapers, being satirised as "Daily Thomas of the David Mail". In 1989, she became the youngest ever editor of Punch magazine, a role she held for three years.[6] [7] In 1995, her comic novel Girl was published. In this, a man enters the hospital for minor surgery but accidentally receives the sex reassignment surgery intended for another patient.[8] Between 2007 and 2012, she wrote a well-received series of thrillers about a former Royal Marine, turned assassin, Samuel Carver.

In 2019, Thomas began writing a column in the Daily Telegraph - A New Woman - about transitioning to become a woman, Diana Thomas.[9] Julie Bindel, the feminist activist and writer, has criticised the column, pointing out that Thomas was previously a men's rights activist.[10] Bindel described Thomas's 1992 book Not Guilty: The Case in Defence of Men, as "a rant about how feminists have the brass neck to blame men for the terrible things they do to women, rather than themselves."[10] Bindel concludes of Thomas's views on women: "While feminists fight for the right for women to break free of oppressive sex stereotypes, the likes of Thomas claim them for [herself]."[10] The column ended on 19 December 2020, with Thomas bidding an emotional farewell to her readers as she reflected on her harrowing transgender journey.[11]

As Diana Thomas, she has written in her defence that transitioning could be considered analogous to immigration: ‘If someone born in India comes to Britain legally, passes the citizenship test and gets a UK passport, who dares say, “You’re not British”? Only a racist. Well, as far as the law goes, when I get a Gender Recognition Certificate, I’ll be a woman, just as that immigrant is British and denying that fact would be no better than racial prejudice.'[12]

Her writing influences include Lee Child, Ian Fleming, and George Macdonald Fraser.[13]

Books

Samuel Carver series

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Politics: we need men, not boys! . High50 . 28 June 2011 . 6 December 2012. David . Thomas .
  2. Web site: To Harrogate, with criminal intent. David . Thomas. . 9 August 2007. 10 November 2011.
  3. Web site: The Peerage. 19 February 2022.
  4. News: Gordon . Jane . 2020-03-14 . 'Call me Diana': Our columnist David Thomas reveals her new life and look . en-GB . The Telegraph . 2022-04-21 . 0307-1235.
  5. Web site: name="Telegraph20200304">Bibliography — Tom Cain — AuthorsPlace . Authors Place . 10 November 2011.
  6. Web site: Tim Dowliname="Telegraph20200304">ng talks to David Thomas. bbc.co.uk. . 24 November 2014.
  7. News: Thomas. David. Media: The dirty world of Mr Punch. 24 November 2014. . Independent Print Limited. 24 November 1998.
  8. Web site: Girl . 2022-03-25 . www.goodreads.com.
  9. Web site: David Thomas – The Telegraph. The Telegraph. 2 November 2020.
  10. Web site: What women really want? You've got no idea. Bindel. Julie. Julie Bindel. 6 August 2019. UnHerd. 2 November 2020.
  11. News: Thomas. Diana. 2020-12-17. My transgender diary: 'I don't want to be famous for being trans'. en-GB. The Telegraph. 2020-12-19. 0307-1235.
  12. Web site: 11 September 2020. Conversations At Scarfes Bar: Diana Thomas Interviews. 28 November 2020. Country and Town House. en-GB.
  13. Web site: Tom Cain Interview; Accident Man . Shots Mag . 15 November 2011. Ali . Karim.
  14. Book: Thomas, David . Not guilty : men, the case for the defence . 1993 . Weidenfeld & Nicolson . 0-297-81216-5 . London . 27927584.