Graham Boynton

Journalist and writer Graham Boynton looks at the life of his friend the photographer Peter Beard, a larger-than-life character who pushed the boundaries of art and scandalised international high society with his affairs.

Boynton describes Beard as the original 20th-century enfant terrible with the looks of a Greek god. He was an adventurer and the more dangerous his escapades the better, including hunting big game in Africa, taking huge quantities of drugs and pursuing the world’s most beautiful women. Boynton was a friend for more than 30 years. He has used hundreds of interviews with Beard’s closest friends to compile a picture of the man who counted the likes of Jackie Onassis, Andy Warhol, and Francis Bacon among his friends.

‘A brilliantly enjoyable read—a triumph.’ Alexander McCall Smith

Boynton has worked as a newspaper and magazine journalist for more than 30 years including more than ten years as travel editor of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph and periods as a political reporter in Africa. He is also author of an acclaimed book on the last days of White rule in Africa, Last Days in Cloud Cuckooland.