Douglas Galbraith

Robert Douglas Galbraith (28 October 1965 – 23 March 2018) was a Scottish historical novelist.

Early life

Galbraith was born in 1965 to Alan and Judy Galbraith.[1] He was educated at The Glasgow Academy and the University of St Andrews, where he read mediaeval history.[1] He then undertook a PhD at Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he met Tomoko Hanasaki.[1]

Career

After working in the wine trade, he was able to focus on writing after the success of his first novel, The Rising Sun, in 2000.[1] The novel explored the Scottish trade expedition to Darien in 1698, which ended in financial ruin.[1] It was awarded the Saltire Award for Best First Novel.[2][1] His follow-up novel, Crichton, (about the Scottish polymath James Crichton) was offered publication, but his agent rejected the offer, thinking that further offers would be forthcoming.[1] None were, and it was subsequently only published as an e-book.[1]

Works
  • The Rising Sun, (2000: Picador).
  • Crichton, (2010: e-book).
  • A Winter in China, (2005: Secker).
  • King Henry, (2008: Vintage).
  • My Son, My Son, (2012: Vintage).

Personal life and abduction of his children

Galbraith married Tomoko Hanasaki in 1996;[3] they had two sons, Satomi and Makoto. In 2003, when the boys were six and four, Galbraith returned from a meeting with his publishers to discover that Hanasaki had abducted them and taken them to Japan.[1][4] Galbraith had been keeping hold of the boys' British and Japanese passports, because he feared they were at risk of abduction; instead, Hanasaki went to the Japanese consulate in Edinburgh and obtained replacements.[4] Hanasaki justified the abduction because she "felt like it and because of the poor quality of the sushi in the local Tesco".[4] His memoir My Son, My Son is about their abduction.[5] Despite his best efforts, Galbraith never saw his sons again, and they remain (2022) missing.[1][6][7]

Galbraith died in 2018, aged 52.[1]

References
  1. "The Scotsman: "Obituary: Douglas Galbraith, author whose life was devastated by the loss of his children", 7 May 2018". 7 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  2. "Herald: "Novel depicting homosexual awakening scoops Saltire prize", 1 December 2000". Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  3. Reading & Wokingham GRO, 1996, 4th quarter, district no 320, page no 0098, entry no 092.
  4. "Irish Times: "'I was trying to create a family unit that ignored cultural divisions'", 14 April 2012". The Irish Times. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  5. "The Scotsman: "Interview: Douglas Galbraith, author of My Son, My Son", 3 April 2012". 3 April 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  6. "Fathers' Rights in Japan: Satomi Hanazaki Galbraith". Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  7. Ryall, Julian (4 May 2022). "Daily Telegraph: "My nephews were abducted to Japan", 4 May 2022". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
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