Wikipedia

Allison Pearson

For the American scholar, seeAllison W. Pearson.For the accused witch, seeAlison Pearson (accused witch).

Judith Allison Pearson(néeLobbett;[1]born 22 July 1960) is a British columnist and author.[2][3]Pearson has worked for British newspapers such as theDaily Mail,The Independent,theEvening Standard,The Daily Telegraph,and theFinancial Times.She has also worked as a presenter forChannel 4andBBC Radio 4.Pearson'schick litnovel was published in 2002; a film adaptation with the same title,I Don't Know How She Does It,was released in 2011.

Allison Pearson
Born
Judith Allison Lobbett

(1960-07-22)22 July 1960(age 64)
Carmarthen,Wales
EducationMarket Harborough Upper School
Lincoln Christ's Hospital School
Alma materClare College, Cambridge
EmployerThe Daily Telegraph
Spouse
Simon Pearson
​
(m.1988)​
Allison Pearson talks aboutI Think I Love Youon Bookbits radio

Pearson campaigned in favour ofBrexitand in 2016 describedBrusselsas thejihadistcapital of Europe. She has criticised theGender Recognition Act 2004,and opposedtransgender rights,describing them as a "an evil trans ideology". She was bankrupted in 2015 by HMRC for non-payment of tax.[4]

Early life

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Born inCarmarthen,Pearson moved toBurry Port,Carmarthenshireas a young child.[2]She lived inLeicestershire,and attendedMarket HarboroughUpper School (nowRobert Smyth School). Her family moved to Washdyke Lane inNettleham,where she attendedLincoln Christ's Hospital School,[5]and won a prize for History in the sixth form;[6]she gained A-levels in English, History and French.[7]

She studied English atClare College, Cambridge,[8][failed verification]graduating with alower second class degree(2:2).[9]

Career

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Journalism

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Pearson began her career with theFinancial Times,where she was a sub-editor, before moving toThe Independentand thenThe Independent on Sundayin 1992. There, she was assistant toBlake Morrisonbefore becoming atelevision critic,winning the award for Critic of the Year at theBritish Press Awardsin 1993.

Pearson was a columnist with London'sEvening StandardandThe Daily Telegraph,then took over fromLynda Lee-Potterat theDaily Mail.Pearson ended her column for theDaily Mailin April 2010, when it was said that she was to joinThe Daily Telegraph.[10][11]In September 2010, Pearson resumed her role as a columnist withThe Daily Telegraph.[12]As of 2015,Pearson is a columnist and chief interviewer ofThe Daily Telegraph.[13]Pearson has presentedChannel 4'sJ'AccuseandBBC Radio 4'sThe Copysnatchers.She participated as a panellist onLate Review,the predecessor ofNewsnight Review.

Pearson is on the Media/PR Advisory Council ofToby Young'sFree Speech Union.[14]

"Jew haters" tweet

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In November 2024, Pearson was visited at home byEssex Policeasking her to undergo a voluntary interview after a complaint that she had incited racial hatred with atweetposted in November 2023. During a period of scrutiny on British policing of pro-Palestinian protests during theIsrael–Hamas war,Pearson had posted a photo ofGreater Manchester Policeofficers standing besides supporters of former Pakistani Prime MinisterImran Khan'sPakistan Tehreek-e-Insafparty waving the party's flag. However, despite the flag including the word "Pakistan", she called the flagbearers "Jew haters" and misidentified the officers asMetropolitan Policeofficers, citing an incident where that service had not met with an Israeli-advocacy group. These errors were corrected by aCommunity Noteand Pearson deleted the tweet.[15][16]

After the visit, Pearson wrote aTelegraphcolumn criticizing the incident and saying that the police had said it was a non-crime hate incident, which garnered public sympathy from right-wing political figures. Afterwards, Essex Police reportedThe Daily Telegraphto theIndependent Press Standards Organisation,saying that it had body camera footage proving that they had never said it was a non-crime hate incident.[15][16]

Books

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Pearson's first novel,I Don't Know How She Does It(2002), was a "chick lit"examination of the pressures of modern motherhood. The book was a bestseller in the UK and the US, selling four million copies, and was made intoa film.[2]

Pearson was sued byMiramaxfor non-delivery of a second novel,I Think I Love You,for which she received a US$700,000 advance in 2003. Delivery was due in 2005:[17]it was published in 2010.[18]The novel was about a teenager's passion forDavid Cassidyin the 1970s and the man writing the so-called replies from David Cassidy to the teenage fans, who meet up 20 years later after marriage, divorce, and children.The Daily Telegraphpraised the novel for its warmth and sincerity;[18]however,The Guardiandescribed it as an "unrealistic and sappy romance".[19]

A sequel toI Don't Know How She Does Itwas published in September 2017. The novel,How Hard Can It Be,[20]continues the story of the protagonist Kate Reddy, now approaching 50 and struggling with bias against older women in the workplace. The book attracted considerable publicity, but was not a bestseller.[3]

Views

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Islamic terrorism

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Shortly after the first of the22 March 2016 Belgian bombings,Pearson suggested that the attacks were a justification for theBrexit cause in the then-upcomingreferendumon Britain's membership of theEuropean Union,writing onTwitterthat "Brussels,de facto capital of the EU, is also thejihadistcapital of Europe. And theRemainersdare to say we're safer in the EU! "Her tweet was criticised byKay BurleyandThe GuardiancolumnistOwen Jones.[21][22][23]Following the May 2017Manchester Arena bombing,Pearson called for terror suspects in the United Kingdom to be interned.[24]

Transgender issues

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Pearson viewstransgenderidentity as "an evil trans ideology"[25]and that "Organisations that should know better have allowed themselves to be infiltrated by a warped ideology that dares to call the fundamental truths of biological science lies".[26][27]

Writing for theTelegraphabout the NHS's decision to log their patient's sexual orientation on every visit; she claimed that politicians were capitulating to the will ofLGBTlobby groups. She questioned the allocation of public funds to the advocacy groupLGBT Foundation: "It’s clear that spineless politicians, pathetically eager to be on-trend, are being manipulated bylobby groupssuch as the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Foundation, a “charity” reportedly behind the new NHS policy ".[26][27]

COVID-19 pandemic

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Pearson said during theCOVID-19 pandemicthat she would not wear a protective face mask because she considered it demeaning.[28]In September 2020, Pearson suggested purposely infecting young people withCOVID-19to create herd immunity within the population.[29]In January 2021, Pearson drew censure fromTwitterusers after outing a critic's employer on Twitter, following her claim thatNational Health Service(NHS) bed occupancy during the pandemic was lower than suggested.[30]

According toThe Guardian,Pearson has made misleading claims aboutCOVID-19.[28]In December 2020, she wrote in herTelegraphcolumn that "Last week, SirPatrick Vallanceand ProfChris Whittypresented another of their Graphs of Doom; this one cherry-picked several hospitals on course to run out of beds. "However, this was false, and no such data was presented in the period stated.[31]In July 2021, she misleadingly tweeted that hospitalisations were 0.5% of COVID-19 cases;Full Factfound that the calculation was incorrect, but also did not make sense due to the lag between testing positive and hospitalisation.[32]

Personal life

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Pearson was married to fellow journalist Simon Pearson,[1]in May 1988 inLincoln.She subsequently lived withAnthony Lane,[33]a film critic forThe New Yorker.She now lives with an unidentified man and her cat.[34]

Allison Pearson was declaredbankruptfollowing a personal insolvency order made by theHigh Court of Justicein London on 9 November 2015. The bankruptcy petitioner was the Commissioners forHM Revenue and Customs.[35][36]

Awards and honours

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Literary awards

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Year Work Award Category Result Ref
2003 I Don't Know How She Does It Wodehouse Prize — Shortlisted [37]
Virgin Books Newcomer of the Year Award — Won
Waverton Good Read Award — Longlisted

Bibliography

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  • —— (2002).I Don't Know How She Does It.Chatto & Windus.ISBN9780701173029.
  • —— (2010).I Think I Love You.Chatto & Windus.ISBN9780701176976.
  • —— (2017).How Hard Can It Be?(hardcover 1st ed.). London:The Borough Press.ISBN9780008150525.

References

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  1. ^ab"none".Private Eye.27 May 2008.
  2. ^abcRachel Mainwaring (11 March 2011)."Teenage crush inspires new novel on David Cassidy".WalesOnline.Retrieved7 July2011.
  3. ^abAlison Flood (8 April 2015)."Allison Pearson revisits bestselling heroine in middle age".The Guardian.
  4. ^Edwardes, Charlotte (14 September 2017)."How Hard Can It Be? by Allison Pearson - review".The Standard.
  5. ^Lincolnshire EchoMonday 20 February 1978, page 6
  6. ^Lincolnshire EchoThursday 23 March 1978, page 7
  7. ^Lincolnshire EchoSaturday 19 August 1978, page 7
  8. ^"Hollywood stardom for novel by Clare alumna".Clare College Alumni Association. 26 January 2011.Retrieved7 July2011.
  9. ^The Historical Register of the University of Cambridge, Supplement 1981–1985.Cambridge University Press.p. 354.
  10. ^Roy Greenslade(19 April 2010)."Telegraphwoos Oborne and Pearson to quit theDaily Mail".The Guardian.
  11. ^"Allison Pearson returns to Daily Telegraph".Press Gazette.30 April 2010.Retrieved23 April2024.
  12. ^Eleanor Black (September 2010). "Women on the verge".Next.p. 32.
  13. ^"Allison Pearson".The Daily Telegraph.Retrieved22 January2016.
  14. ^"Who We Are – The Free Speech Union".7 August 2020. Archived fromthe originalon 7 August 2020.Retrieved4 January2021.
  15. ^abArmstrong, Kathryn (15 November 2024)."Police defend investigation into journalist's social media post".BBC News.Retrieved16 November2024.
  16. ^abDodd, Vikram (15 November 2024)."Allison Pearson's 'racist' tweet is at centre of Telegraph's row with police".The Guardian.Retrieved15 November2024.
  17. ^"Miramax says British columnist failed to deliver book".Reuters.11 August 2008.
  18. ^abChloe Rhodes (21 June 2010)."I Think I Love Youby Allison Pearson: review ".The Daily Telegraph.
  19. ^Carole Cadwalladr(21 March 2018)."I Think I Love You,Book review ".The Guardian.
  20. ^Charlotte Edwardes (14 September 2017)."How Hard Can It Be?by Allison Pearson – review ".London Evening Standard.Retrieved25 October2017.
  21. ^Saul, Heather (22 March 2016)."Telegraphcolumnist accused of 'shamelessly' using Brussels attacks to make Brexit argument ".The Independent.Archivedfrom the original on 22 March 2016.Retrieved21 July2017.
  22. ^Pearson, Allison (12 January 2016)."Why the Brexit referendum will be swung by the horrific events in Cologne".The Daily Telegraph.Retrieved21 July2017.
  23. ^Pearson, Allison (1 March 2016)."Our schools and hospitals simply cannot cope with the influx of migrants – that's why we must leave the EU".The Daily Telegraph.Retrieved21 July2017.
  24. ^Elliott, Chris (23 May 2017)."Manchester attack: intern terror suspects, urges Cambridge-based writer".Cambridge News.Retrieved21 July2017.
  25. ^Pearson, Allison (15 March 2024)."The evil trans ideology is in retreat, at last".The Telegraph.ISSN0307-1235.Retrieved13 April2024.
  26. ^abPearson, Allison (17 October 2017)."Will our spineless politicians' love affair with LGBT ever end?".The Telegraph.ISSN0307-1235.Retrieved4 January2021.
  27. ^ab"Telegraph columnist lashes out at" spineless "pro-LGBT politicians".PinkNews.20 October 2017.Retrieved4 January2021.
  28. ^abBland, Archie (25 January 2021)."The information warriors fighting 'robot zombie army' of coronavirus sceptics".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved25 January2021.
  29. ^Pearson, Allison (22 September 2020)."Ridiculous Covid rules are hurting the young – nobody wants them to be punished in our name".The Telegraph.ISSN0307-1235.Retrieved4 January2021.
  30. ^Kemp, Oliver (4 January 2021)."'You're finished' – Telegraph columnist threatens to sue Kent-based scientist ".Kent Online.Retrieved4 January2021.
  31. ^"Telegraph wrong on Whitty and Vallance statements".Full Fact.3 December 2020.Retrieved23 December2021.
  32. ^"Allison Pearson tweets misleading stats about Covid hospital patients".Full Fact.16 July 2021.Retrieved23 December2021.
  33. ^Will Cohu (14 December 2003)."A writer's life: Anthony Lane".The Daily Telegraph.Retrieved3 July2007.
  34. ^Pearson, Allison (25 January 2024)."My Turkish cat arrives this week – after huge amounts of money and soppy sentimentality"– via telegraph.co.uk.
  35. ^Andy McSmith (10 January 2016)."Diary: The ideal figure to bring discipline to unruly Blairites".The Independent.Archivedfrom the original on 28 January 2016.Retrieved22 January2016.
  36. ^"Bankruptcy Orders – Pearson, Allison".The London Gazette.No. 61417. 23 November 2015. p. 23080.Retrieved22 January2016.
  37. ^Pauli, Michelle (27 May 2003)."Black comedy debut takes Wodehouse".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 11 September 2014.Retrieved20 September2011.

Video clips

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