The Author
About John Kinski
A writer shaped by history, theatre, and a lifelong fascination with character.
John Kinski is a novelist with a rigorous academic background in history. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and an MPhil in History from the London School of Economics, where he studied from 1969 to 1977 — eight years immersed in the political upheavals, social transformations, and human dramas that now fuel his fiction.
His writing spans two distinct worlds: the riot-torn streets of contemporary London and the closed playhouses of seventeenth-century England. What unites them is an eye for character, a taste for dark humour, and a refusal to let history be boring.
He is the author of the suspense thriller Tottenham Boys and his latest work Theatrecy, published by Troubador in June 2026. He is currently completing Halfpenny, a suspense novel set in Regency England.
Across the work
What John writes about
Two novels, two eras — but recurring obsessions that define the fiction.
History as living drama
From the English Civil War to the 2011 London riots, John's fiction treats the past not as a museum piece but as a stage where ordinary people are forced to perform roles they never chose.
Identity and deception
Characters assume disguises, hide secrets, and construct false selves — whether Gideon playing roles on the road to Oxford, or Ricky confronting the past he thought he'd left behind.
Pressure and survival
John's fiction understands stress, endurance, and survival — characters pushed to breaking point in times of crisis.
Dark humour
Even in the bleakest historical moments, John's work finds the absurd — a hallmark of Theatrecy, where murder plots and closed theatres sit alongside romantic farce.
London & its margins
From Tottenham's back streets to the Globe's Southwark stage, London is a constant presence — a city of loyalty, danger, and reinvention.
Politics & personal cost
Civil war, radicalism, riots — John's characters navigate political upheaval not as abstract forces but as personal catastrophes that reshape families and friendships.
Writing & career
A life in history and fiction
1969 – 1977
London School of Economics
Eight years studying history at the LSE, completing a BA and MPhil — building the historical foundation that would later shape Theatrecy and inform all his fiction.
2017
Tottenham Boys
A contemporary thriller following press photographer Ricky through the 2011 London riots — published on Kindle and in paperback.
June 2026
Theatrecy
Latest novel published by Troubador — a black comedy set during the English Civil War, following Gideon's quest to restore the Globe Theatre.
Forthcoming
Halfpenny
A suspense novel set in Regency England — nearing completion.