His first book, This Time Next Week, is the autobiography of a happy orphan. Aged sixteen, he became a reporter on a weekly newspaper in Essex and then did his National Service in Malaya during the Communist bandit war. T he Virgin Soldiers tells of these days; it was an immediate bestseller and has been made into a film with Lynn Redgrave and Hywel Bennett. Onward Virgin Soldiers, the follow‑up to this, is also published by Pan Books.Returning to civilian life, Leslie Thomas joined the staff of the Evening News becoming a top feature writer and travelling a great deal. His second novel, Orange Wednesday, was published in 1967. For nine months during 1967 he travelled around ten islands off the coast of Britain, the result of which was a lyrical travelogue, Some Lovely lslands. from which the BBC did a television series. He has continued to travel a great deal and has also written several television plays. He is a director of a London publishing house. His hobbies include golf. antiques and Queen's Park Rangers Football Club.His other books include Come to the War, His Lordship.
