L. J. K. Setright Explained

L. J. K. Setright
Birth Date:1931 8, df=yes
Birth Place:London, England
Death Place:Surbiton, London, England
Occupation:Author, journalist, lawyer, air traffic controller
Alma Mater:University College London
Genre:Non-fiction history and technology
Subject:Automotive and motorcycling
Awards:Gwen Salmon Trophy for automotive photography, fellow Institute of Mechanical Engineers (1969), fellow Institute of Rubber Industries (1970)

Leonard John Kensell Setright (10 August 1931 – 7 September 2005) was an English motoring journalist and author.[1]

Early life and education

Setright was born in London to Australian parents; his father, Henry Roy Setright, was an engineer who invented the Setright ticket machine used on buses and trams. He died when Setright was 11 years old.[1] Setright attended Palmers Green Grammar school before studying law at the University of London which he practised for a time but hated the profession. His National Service was served in the Royal Air Force as an air traffic controller.[1]

Writing career

After writing for the engineering magazine Machine Age in the early 1960s, Setright became a motoring journalist and author, contributing to Car Magazine for more than 30 years and writing several books on cars and automotive engineering.[2] Setright's writing style polarised readers as some considered it to be pompous and excessively esoteric, while others found his erudite style and engineering knowledge a welcome change from the usual lightweight and largely non-technical journalistic style.[1] He had a strong enthusiasm for Bristol Cars and for Japanese engineering, in particular Honda.

Setright also wrote about music, motorcycles and high-fidelity sound systems, and contributed to, among others, Punch, The Independent, Bike, Cycle Guide/USA, Motorcycle Sport under the initials LJKS, Back Street Heroes and Car and Driver.[3] [4]

Personal life

Setright was also known for his love of smoking tobacco, in particular Sobranie Black Russian cigarettes,[2] and for his elegant sartorial style. He was described as resembling "a gaunt Old Testament prophet in Savile Row clothes".[5] He was an accomplished clarinet player.[4]

Setright was a practising Jew and a scholar of Judaism.[1] He was married twice; his first wife, Christina, committed suicide in 1980.[4] After this he spent some time in a Lubavitch community in Texas,[4] later returning to the UK, and he settled in Surbiton, near London, where he died of cancer in 2005.

List of works

Author
Coauthor
Editor

Notes and References

  1. News: LJK Setright . . 17 September 2005.
  2. News: L. J. K. Setright . The Times Online . 6 October 2005. London.
  3. News: Green . Gavin . L. J. K. Setright . . 19 September 2005.
  4. News: LJK Setright . . 19 September 2005. London. Mark. Williams.
  5. Web site: Orosz . Peter . 20 January 2012 . Drive On! Is the Greatest Book About Cars Ever Written .

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