Alan Clark, educated at Eton and Oxford, read for the Bar but did not practise. Tory MP for Plymouth Sutton 1972-1992; Kensington and Chelsea, 1997-99. Various junior ministerial appointments in the Margaret Thatcher and John Major governments of the 1980s. Best-known for his Diaries (three volumes) which The Times placed in the Samuel Pepys class. They were filmed by the BBC with John Hurt as Clark and Jenny Agutter as Jane Clark. Alan Clark died in 1999.

Ion Trewin is a London publisher. Originally a journalist and Literary Editor of THE TIMES (1972-79), he changed gear and into publishing in 1980. He was Alan Clark's editor and publisher from 1992 until his death, and has edited three volumes of Alan Clark's diaries, and written an acclaimed biography of the MP. Married with a son and daughter, he has since 2006 been literary director of the MAN BOOKER PRIZE. He was chairman of the Cheltenham Literature Festival 1996-2007.