James Harding

James Harding (30 May 1929 – 21 June 2007) was a British writer on music and theatre with a particular interest in 19th- and early 20th-century French subjects and popular British music.

Biography James Harding was born in Bath, England, but the family moved to Trowbridge. He went on to study French at Bristol University, also spending time at the Sorbonne in Paris, France. He undertook national service in the RAF, but through an accidental hand grenade detonation lost hearing in his left ear. After the war, he worked as a copywriter with Clarks in Somerset, then moved to advertising agencies in London. He wrote a column for the News of the World with the pseudonym "Jane Dunbar". He married and had a son and a daughter. British subjects treated by him included Ivor Novello and George Robey.

Selected publications James Harding, Saint-Saëns and His Circle (1965) James Harding, Sacha Guitry: The Last Boulevardier (1967) James Harding, The Astonishing Adventure of General Boulanger (1971) James Harding, The Ox on the Roof; Scenes From the Musical Life in Paris in the Twenties (1972) James Harding, Gounod (1973) James Harding, Erik Satie (1975) James Harding, Folies de Paris: The Rise and Fall of French Operetta (1979) James Harding, Jacques Offenbach: A Biography (1980) James Harding, Ivor Novello (1987) James Harding, Gerald du Maurier: The Last Actor-Manager (1989) James Harding, George Robey and the Music Hall (Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, 1990)