Johnson, Rachel 1965–

PERSONAL:

Born 1965, in England; daughter of Stanley Johnson (an environmentalist and writer), and Charlotte Johnson Wahl (a painter); married Ivo Dawnay; children: three. Education: Graduated from Oxford University.

ADDRESSES:

Home— London, England; Exmoor, England.

CAREER:

Freelance writer, columnist. Worked previously at Financial Times, London, England, graduate trainee and reporter for five years; British Broadcasting Corporation, London, England.

WRITINGS:

(Editor)The Oxford Myth, Weidenfeld & Nicolson (London, England), 1988.

(Editor, with others)Ours to Defend: Leicestershire People Remember World War II, Leicester Oral History Archive and Mantle Oral History Project (Leister, England), 1989.

Notting Hell(novel), Figg Tree (London, England), 2006, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2007.

Contributor of weekly columns to periodicals including the Sunday Telegraph, Financial Times, Evening Standard, the Brussels-based Bulletin, and the Daily Telegraph.

SIDELIGHTS:

Writer Rachel Johnson was born in 1965 in England, the daughter of the environmentalist and writer Stanley Johnson and the painter Charlotte Johnson Wahl. She studied English literature at the University of Oxford, and after graduating, became the first woman chosen to be a graduate trainee for the Financial Times. After approximately five years, she moved on to work for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). During this time she had also married her husband, Ivo Dawnay, and had three children, and so when his job relocated them to Washington, DC, she became a freelance writer in order to work from home. She continued, even after returning to England, and has contributed weekly columns to various periodicals, including the Sunday Telegraph, Financial Times, Evening Standard, the Brussels-based Bulletin, and the Daily Telegraph.

Johnson's first novel,Notting Hell, was released in England in 2006, with an American edition published the following year. A roman à clef, the book features the Notting Hill neighborhood of London, where Johnson resides with her family, and is based on a series of columns she had written earlier about the insanity of motherhood and the new-money residents currently gentrifying the area. The book features a freelance journalist named Mimi, who has three children and a part-time job, and a garden designer named Clare, who is cheating on her architect husband. The book traces the ins and outs of their relationships, affairs, yoga classes, and gossip about all of the above. Notting Hill itself serves as a backdrop, with posh shops and private gardens that are only accessible if one lives in the area and is graced with the key. The book was touted as scandalous for anyone likely to recognize the thinly veiled characters for their real-life counterparts, and as a result it sold briskly in Great Britain. Nicholas Coleridge, writing for the Spectator,observed that "Johnson's acerbic and well-observed bitch-up of life on a Notting Hill communal garden justifies the copious pre-publicity." He went on to note: "The strength of this novel is that it powers along, sneering in all directions with chilly brilliance." However, for those not in the know, there seems to have been less of a connection. Jill Hart, in a review for Blog Critics, was less than overwhelmed by the Notting Hill machinations, stating: "Not much drama other than the occasional adultery and garden party. It was a light read, maybe good for an afternoon on the beach." Rachel Cooke, reviewing for the New Statesman, commented that "a proper, satisfying satire it is not.… The real reason for the softness of its bite, however, is that Johnson rather lacks a plot."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Bookseller, September 1, 2006, review of Notting Hell, p. 10.

Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2007, review of Notting Hell.

New Statesman, September 18, 2006, Rachel Cooke, "Among the Smug Gits," p. 64.

New Statesman & Society, June 17, 1988, Clive Davis, review of The Oxford Myth, p. 42.

Publishers Weekly, January 1, 2007, review of Notting Hell, p. 30.

Spectator, August 26, 2006, Nicholas Coleridge, "Vanity Fair in W.11."

Times Educational Supplement, July 22, 1988, Andrew Davies, review of The Oxford Myth, p. 18.

ONLINE

Blog Critics,http://blogcritics.org/ (June 12, 2007), Jill Hart, review of Notting Hell.

Observer Online, http://books.guardian.co.uk/(August 13, 2006), Carole Cadwalladr, "Meet My Neighbors."

Rachel Johnson Home Page,http://www.racheljohnson.co.uk (December 9, 2007).