Combining a mix of society's last word and both wit and wisdom, The Steeple Times covers food, drink and fine dining as well as luxury, travel, the arts, individuals of influence and current affairs in the United Kingdom, America and elsewhere. We are best described as being akin to "a cross between The Huffington Post and Private Eye".
The magazine's following is affluent, engaged and international. With 41% of readers coming from the UK and 38% from America, The Steeple Times also has strong presence within Canadian, Italian, German and Australian territories.
September 4, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Novelist David Cornwell (AKA John le Carré) speaks sense on the elite, Brexit and Donald Trump David Cornwell – better known as the novelist John le Carré – gave a rare interview in yesterday’s The Sunday Times. In it, he spoke candidly and revealed his beliefs that Brexit is something he “despises” and that … Continue reading “Hero of the Hour – David Cornwell”
July 6, 2017
by General
A 20-question interview with Sandra Howard – novelist, former model and wife of Conservative politician The Rt. Hon. Lord Howard of Lympne The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force? Seeing the upside of life and what’s to laugh at. “Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, … Continue reading “Sandra Howard – What’s on your mantelpiece?”
May 27, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Renovated Pacific Heights, San Francisco residence with Danielle Steel as a neighbour for sale for sum 652% higher than it sold for in 1994 A buyer wishing to live just to the north of Danielle Steel’s architecturally striking ‘Spreckels Mansion’ home can now purchase 1994 Jackson Street in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights. For … Continue reading “Anything But A Steel”
May 25, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Scottish sporting estate, once home to Sir Walter Scott, for sale; it comes with nearly two miles of fishing on the River Tweed, 863 acres of land and seven houses The Scottish estate where Sir Walter Scott, Bt. (1771 – 1732) wrote his narrative poems Lay of the Minstrel and The Lady of the … Continue reading “An Epic Estate”
May 13, 2017
by General
A “libertarian-left” Labour MP between 1997 and 2010, distinguished barrister and novelist Bob Marshall-Andrews defected to the Liberal Democrats in 2017. Described as “an irritant” to his former party whilst they were in government, multi-millionaire Marshall-Andrews built and owns “one of the most innovative houses of the 20th century – the famed ‘Teletubby House’ in … Continue reading “Bob Marshall-Andrews QC”
February 19, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Piers Morgan withdraws from presenting an awards ceremony after an online campaign to oust him went viral; next he needs to leave Britain for good On Sunday, Piers Morgan, undoubtedly one of the most loathed men in Britain, took to social media to explain why he has opted to pull out of hosting the … Continue reading “P**s Off Piers”
January 19, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Matthew Steeples suggests Robert Harris is right to point out how Britain has changed and changed for the worse The novelist Robert Harris was attacked this morning by the Daily Mail’s Stephen Glover as an “immoderate Remoaner” for tweeting about how he felt Britain had changed since the Brexit referendum. On Tuesday, Harris … Continue reading “Hero of the Hour – Robert Harris”
December 20, 2015
by General
Ambitious and hardworking to her core, North London born Karren Brady likes to describe herself as a “working mum”.
September 20, 2015
by General
The younger sister of the diva-esque actress Joan Collins, “Queen of the Bonkbuster” Jackie Collins wrote 32 novels and sold over 500 million books during her lifetime.
July 28, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
Michael Bloomberg offers £2 million above the £15 million asking price to see off three other bidders and buys George Eliot’s house by the River Thames
March 3, 2015
by General
In her 2010 novel, The Recessionistas, this esteemed Jewish mother of three chronicled the consequences of economic collapse for a wealthy New York investment banker and his socialite wife.
February 22, 2015
by General
With a name worthy of a Bond Girl, Josie Goodbody has morphed from working in public relations in London to writing novels in Uruguay.
December 27, 2014
by General
The son of businessman King Harris and publishing heiress Anne Hearst McInerney, Randy Harris celebrated his 21st birthday party at the ‘21’ Club in 2012
December 26, 2014
by General
Four times married and the wife of the former Conservative Home Secretary Michael Howard since 1975, Sandra Howard is a mother of three who began her career modelling for David Bailey and Norman Parkinson.
October 13, 2014
by Matthew Steeples
Broadcaster turned author Judy Finnigan tries to excuse the conduct of a convicted rapist
September 19, 2014
by Matthew Steeples
Former Daily Record chief reporter Anna Smith has covered conflicts from Somalia and Rwanda to Kosovo. She was one of the first journalists on the scene after both 9/11 and the Dunblane massacres and now writes crime novels full time. In September 2014, she summed up the feelings of many when she wrote an impassioned … Continue reading “Anna Smith”
December 19, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
This Carlisle born author, broadcaster and columnist loathes Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland but loves Tartufo in Cadogan Gardens, SW3. Dent’s witty weekly Evening Standard column ‘Grace and Flavour’ is a must read as her acerbic commentaries about London’s best and worst eating spots are just brilliant. She has nearly 200,000 followers on Twitter and has … Continue reading “Grace Dent”
October 12, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
This Chicago born novelist, short story writer and essayist explored deep themes through his own personal experiences of drug abuse, paranoia, schizophrenia and transcendental experiences. Married five times, Dick published 44 novels and 121 short stories yet spent most of his life in poverty. Ten popular films based on his works have been produced including … Continue reading “Philip K. Dick (1928 – 1982; AKA Richard Phillipps and Jack Dowland)”
September 27, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
Ladies Who Impress to hold their next event on 4th October Jana Bakunina, a contributor to The Steeple Times and the founder of the Ladies Who Impress forum, is hosting her next event on 4th October at the Skyloft bar of the Millbank Tower.
September 2, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
Record price set for a mansion in San Francisco by Yahoo! chief San Francisco’s Pacific Heights is best known for its extremely expensive properties and as home to the likes of novelist Danielle Steele, SKYY vodka tycoon Maurice Kanbar and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. With the sale of 2950 Broadway for the record breaking price … Continue reading “Meyer and Mayer”
August 25, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
Portland, Oregon born Cassidy is best known for his role as Zach Stevens in The O.C. He has subsequently appeared in Smallville, Hidden Palms, Argo and Scandal and is one of the main characters in Men at Work. If Cassidy weren’t an actor, he’d like to have been a novelist or professional tennis player and … Continue reading “Michael Cassidy”
June 16, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
This Roman Catholic novelist and Italian translator’s works have included A Darker Shade of Love, Web of Passion and Anita: A Memoir. A former debutante and model, Dunhill also writes about love, life and lunches on the site Angela Darling’s Blog and is a granddaughter of the luxury goods titan Alfred Dunhill.
May 4, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
This British radio presenter, journalist and author is a much respected and reassuring voice of reason. Whilst at Oxford she was the librarian of the Oxford Union and then wrote a travel book, One Summer’s Grace, based on a 1,700 mile sailing journey she made around Britain with children aged three and five in 2002. … Continue reading “Libby Purves OBE”
April 15, 2013
by steepleadmin
Author Sarah Tucker shares her thoughts on the reaction to the death of Margaret Thatcher I can’t really remember much about when Maggie Thatcher was in power. I know my parents were full of praise for her because our country was almost third world when she became PM, strikes crippling industries, rubbish being left … Continue reading “Margaret Thatcher: Strong lady, weak men”
April 11, 2013
by Sarah Tucker
Sarah Tucker tries out Britain’s scariest new attraction 80mph, approximately a mile long, 700 foot above a mountain lake, under clear blue skies in Snowdonia: Today, I became Wonder Woman for 55 seconds.
March 27, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
The sale of a historic £22 million residence on London’s Cheyne Walk Cheyne Walk in Chelsea is amongst the addresses that an estate agent would describe as “the most sought after in London”. Up there in the company of the Bishops Avenue, Grosvenor Square and Cadogan Square, it has moved from having been home … Continue reading “Taking a view”
March 10, 2013
by steepleadmin
Travel writer Sarah Tucker shares her views on Mother’s Day Happy Mother’s Day to all you wonderful women who have given birth to little gems. I feel a bit like a travel writer stating: “The people here are all very friendly” when I write that, because although it’s mostly true, it’s not always true. … Continue reading “The truth about Mother’s Day”
December 7, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
This “Boswell of the bluebloods” was a writer whose tips came from unnamed sources and “waiter[s] serving [him] risotto at dinner parties”.
December 4, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
Jilly Cooper’s state of the nation style summary strikes chords with Matthew Steeples Best-selling bonkbuster author Jilly Cooper might be best known for novels such as Riders and Jump! but in the 1980s and 90s she was equally lauded as “one of the Conservative Party’s most ardent supporters.” Cooper, born in 1937, showed … Continue reading “The Woman Who’ll Make Politicians Jealous”
December 1, 2012
by steepleadmin
Sarah Tucker shares her experiences on a panel discussing the outcomes of Leveson Journalist and author Sarah Tucker was one of the panelists at a talk at the Richmond Literary Festival on Thursday evening. By chance, since it coincided with the publication of the Leveson Report, the panel’s discussion naturally focused on that. Here … Continue reading “The Media: Friend or foe?”
November 15, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
This mouthpiece was born in Rettendon, Essex in 1958 and vents bile on all manner of subjects. Articles such as: “Why don’t more women moan like me?” and “Liz Jones’ baby craving drove her to steal husband’s sperm in ultimate deception” are frankly illustrative of why she’s so unpopular. After she got banned from the … Continue reading “Liz Jones”
November 12, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
Matthew Steeples examines the truth behind Liz Jones giving up on her “rural idyll” The Mail’s Liz Jones is a waspish woman who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. Those who’ve paid even a moment’s attention to her bleating, will be familiar with lines such as: “Last week, my brand … Continue reading “The battleaxe in the Beemer”
November 5, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
Matthew Steeples explores the story of an empty Kensington mansion A multi-million pound 8-bedroomed house in Kensington isn’t anything unusual. In fact, rather, they’re ten a penny. In this, one of the wealthiest boroughs in the land, large, expensive homes are just the norm. No. 1 Campden Hill, which is being marketed for … Continue reading “Boujis in the basement?”
October 26, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
This talented author was born in South Africa but educated at Eton and New College, Oxford. The Drowning People, his first novel, gained him a “vast” advance and was published during his first year at university. It’s been translated into 22 languages and has sold over 3 million copies. Richard Mason funds a foundation in … Continue reading “Richard Mason”
October 24, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
On her website, Giles describes herself as a “model, TV and radio presenter, actress and comedienne, novelist and journalist…” Is there anything this ex-wife of Midge Ure of Ultravox does not do? On her blog: “When 140 characters just isn’t enough…” she tells David Cameron: “I’m not into politics, I’m into people” and states that … Continue reading “Annabel Giles”
October 2, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
The North Devon countryside that inspired Henry Williamson, R. D. Blackmore and Charles Kingsley Much of my childhood was spent reading the works of superb authors and amongst the best of them were Arthur Ransome (1884 – 1967), Denys Watkins-Pitchford (1905 – 1990), who wrote many of his works under the pseudonym “B.B.”, and … Continue reading “The land of Tarka and Salar”
September 26, 2012
by steepleadmin
Sarah Tucker shares the latest of her “playground politics” experiences My son started at a new school a few weeks back. Five foot eleven, half of him at 13 he is now taller than me. He was a bit nervous, I cried in the car after I dropped him off and he refused … Continue reading “Playground victims”
September 22, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
J.K. Rowling sells the home where she first moved after the initial success of her “Harry Potter” series Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is a lady said to be worth some $1 billion. Her path from “rags to riches” is well documented but the announcement of the sale of the Edinburgh home she first … Continue reading “Rowling on”
July 5, 2012
by Sarah Tucker
Award winning journalist, presenter and novelist Sarah Tucker examines the mafia of the playground It’s getting worse. I wrote the (fictional) novel The Playground Mafia in 2006 and since then have had requests for interviews and emails from all over the world where men and women have got a hold of the book somehow and … Continue reading “Playground Mafia”
May 17, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
This statuesque Oxford graduate’s first novel, Sin Tropez, was a mighty success. The Independent described it as a “thrilling and scandalous read” and it got five out of five from OK! Magazine. Aita Ighodaro’s second novel, All That Gitters, came out in November 2012 and when she’s not writing, she’s often to be found enjoying a … Continue reading “Aita Ighodaro”
May 7, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
Jeffrey’s invented a lot of tales but is rightly renowned for spinning them brilliantly. This former politician wrote some brilliant diaries whilst in prison and now is mostly likely to be found doing charitable deeds. His shepherd’s pie and Krug parties are still the stuff of legends.
April 28, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
English actor, novelist, film director and screenwriter. His career pottered along until he won an Oscar for Gosford Park in 2002. Subsequent success came with Downton Abbey in 2011 but his personal obsession with the Titanic disaster resulted in an iceberg of a flop with a 2012 ITV mini-series on the subject. Parties at Stafford … Continue reading “Julian Fellowes (The Lord Fellowes of West Stafford DL, also known as Julian Kitchener-Fellowes)”
