4 Douglas Murray

Published on 09/11/2003 00:00

Douglas Murray

Writer, 24

Lives? London. Spends summers fishing on Lewis, his home turf.

Who he? The youngest published biographer in history, he wrote the bestseller Bosie: A Biography of Lord Alfred Douglas during his gap year. Having read English at Oxford, he is working as a freelance political journalist and researching a book about Bloody Sunday. His play, Nightfall, heads to London’s West End next year. It centres on a real-life dinner party in 1944, when Swedish diplomat and humanitarian Raoul Wallenberg tried to persuade his guest, Nazi Adolf Eichmann, from implementing the Final Solution.

Conquests Admits he’s not great at long-term relationships.

Haunts He’s spending five days a week sitting in on the Bloody Sunday hearings. He eschews noisy clubs and pubs, but you might catch him at Bonaventure, a remote French restaurant tucked away on a cliff in Uigg.

Pluses He’s a talented bassoonist and used to sing choral music, so will feel quite at home at a prom or the opera. He also loves Coldplay, and is a "mad" CD collector.

Minuses Too clever by half. Can you match him for intellectual chit chat over dinner?

Do Say, "Can I be in your play?" They haven’t chosen the cast yet.

Don’t Make him wear trainers. He can’t stand them.