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Diana Thomas (writer)

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Diana Thomas
BornDavid Thomas
(1959-01-17) 17 January 1959 (age 65)
Pen nameTom Cain
OccupationAuthor
EducationKing's College, Cambridge (BA)
GenreThriller
Notable worksSamuel Carver series
Notable awardsYoung Journalist of the Year[1]
RelativesSusan Thomas (mother)
Website
accidentman.blogspot.com

Diana Thomas (formerly David Thomas; born 17 January 1959),[2] better known by the pen name Tom Cain,[1][3] is an English journalist and author of a series of thriller novels about protagonist Samuel Carver.

Biography

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Thomas' mother was the Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Thomas of Walliswood.[4] Her father was a British diplomat,[5] David Churchill Thomas. For the first few years of her life, Thomas lived in Moscow and she has also lived in Washington, D.C., and Havana, Cuba. She was educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, where she read History of Art.[2][5]

She spent 25 years as a journalist,[6] working for publications such as The Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday.[1] She was mocked in Private Eye for her frequent contributions to these newspapers, being satirised as "Daily Thomas of the David Mail". She worked as a TV reporter on Film '82.[7] In 1989, she became the youngest ever editor of Punch magazine, a role she held for three years.[8][9] In 1995, her comic novel Girl was published. In this, a man enters the hospital for minor surgery but accidentally receives the sex reassignment surgery intended for another patient.[10] Between 2007 and 2012, she wrote a well-received series of thrillers about a former Royal Marine, turned assassin, Samuel Carver.

In 2019, Thomas began writing a column in the Daily Telegraph - A New Woman - about transitioning to become a woman, Diana Thomas.[11] Julie Bindel, the feminist activist and writer, has criticised the column, pointing out that Thomas was previously a men's rights activist.[12] Bindel described Thomas's 1992 book Not Guilty: The Case in Defence of Men, as "a rant about how feminists have the brass neck to blame men for the terrible things they do to women, rather than themselves."[12] Bindel concludes of Thomas's views on women: "While feminists fight for the right for women to break free of oppressive sex stereotypes, the likes of Thomas claim them for [herself]."[12] The column ended on 19 December 2020, with Thomas bidding an emotional farewell to her readers as she reflected on her harrowing transgender journey.[13]

As Diana Thomas, she has written in her defence that transitioning could be considered analogous to immigration: ‘If someone born in India comes to Britain legally, passes the citizenship test and gets a UK passport, who dares say, “You’re not British”? Only a racist. Well, as far as the law goes, when I get a Gender Recognition Certificate, I’ll be a woman, just as that immigrant is British and denying that fact would be no better than racial prejudice.'[14]

Her writing influences include Lee Child, Ian Fleming, and George Macdonald Fraser.[15]

Books

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  • 1993 Not guilty: men, the case for the defence[16]
  • 1995 Girl

Samuel Carver series

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Thomas, David (28 June 2011). "Politics: we need men, not boys!". High50. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  2. ^ a b "THOMAS, Hon. Diana (Willow Penrose)". Who's Who. Vol. 2024 (online ed.). A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ Thomas, David (9 August 2007). "To Harrogate, with criminal intent". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  4. ^ "The Peerage". Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  5. ^ a b Gordon, Jane (14 March 2020). "'Call me Diana': Our columnist David Thomas reveals her new life and look". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  6. ^ "Telegraph20200304">ce.co.uk/tom-cain/bibliography/ "name="Telegraph20200304">Bibliography — Tom Cain — AuthorsPlace". Authors Place. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  7. ^ "David Thomas transition story | Peak Trans". 24 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Tim Dowliname="Telegraph20200304">ng talks to David Thomas". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  9. ^ Thomas, David (24 November 1998). "Media: The dirty world of Mr Punch". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  10. ^ "Girl". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  11. ^ "David Thomas – The Telegraph". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  12. ^ a b c Bindel, Julie (6 August 2019). "What women really want? You've got no idea". UnHerd. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  13. ^ Thomas, Diana (17 December 2020). "My transgender diary: 'I don't want to be famous for being trans'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  14. ^ "Conversations At Scarfes Bar: Diana Thomas | Interviews". Country and Town House. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  15. ^ Karim, Ali. "Tom Cain Interview; Accident Man". Shots Mag. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  16. ^ Thomas, David (1993). Not guilty : men, the case for the defence. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-81216-5. OCLC 27927584.
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