Cristina Odone

Summary

Cristina Patricia Odone (born 11 November 1960)[1] is an Italian-British journalist, editor, and writer. She is the founder and chair of the Parenting Circle Charity. Odone is formerly the Editor of The Catholic Herald, Deputy Editor of the New Statesman.[2] She is currently Head of the Family Policy Unit at the Centre for Social Justice.

Cristina Odone
Born
Cristina Patricia Odone

(1960-11-11) 11 November 1960 (age 63)[1]
NationalityItalian-British
EducationMarymount School
National Cathedral School
St Clare's
Worcester College, Oxford
Occupation(s)Journalist, writer, TV commentator
Notable credit(s)The Catholic Herald (Editor)
New Statesman (Deputy Editor)
The Shrine
A Perfect Wife
The Dilemmas of Harriet Carew
The Good Divorce Guide
SpouseEdward Lucas
Children1
Parent
FamilyLorenzo Odone (half-brother)
Websitehttp://www.cristinaodone.com

Early life edit

Odone was born in Nairobi, Kenya, to an Italian father, Augusto Odone, and a Swedish mother.[2][3] Her half-brother was Lorenzo Odone, after whom Lorenzo's oil is named.[4][5]

Odone's father was a World Bank official, which led to the family regularly moving. Odone went initially to Marymount School, then later to the National Cathedral School, Washington, D.C. After her parents' divorce,[6] Odone moved to Britain to go to St Clare's, a boarding school in Oxford.[7] Odone studied French literature and history at Worcester College, Oxford.[2][7]

Journalist edit

Odone edited The Catholic Herald from 1991 to 1995.[2][8] Odone later worked for the World Bank in Washington, D.C., as an advisor to European companies.[7] She resigned from The Catholic Herald to be able to finish her second novel, A Perfect Wife.[9] In 1996, Odone became the television critic for The Daily Telegraph, a position she held for two years.[2][10]

In 1998, Odone became deputy editor of the New Statesman.[11] Odone resigned in November 2004.[12] For six years Odone was a weekly columnist for The Observer.[8] In 2005, Odone wrote and presented a Channel 4 documentary directed by David Malone called Dispatches: Women Bishops.[13]

Following a dispute with Johann Hari while they were colleagues at the New Statesman, Odone commented that pejorative changes were made to her Wikipedia entry.[14] It subsequently became apparent that Hari was responsible, using pseudonymous sockpuppet accounts to make edits attacking Odone and his critics.[15]

A frequent contributor to radio and television debates, Odone is presently a columnist for The Daily Telegraph.[16]

Published works edit

Odone has written four novels: The Shrine (1996),[17] A Perfect Wife (1997),[18] The Dilemmas of Harriet Carew (2008)[19] and The Good Divorce Guide (2009)[20] She contributed to Why I am still a Catholic (2005).[21]

Personal life edit

Odone is married to Edward Lucas,[2] a writer for The Economist magazine.[22] The couple have one child; Lucas has two children from a previous marriage.[6]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Odone, Cristina (5 November 2006). "What a tangled web we are weaving". The Observer. London.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Cristina Odone". Curtis Brown. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  3. ^ Odone, Cristina (26 March 2006). "How well they knew us, those old masters". The Observer. London.
  4. ^ Odone, Cristina (17 July 2005). "'Lorenzo's oil, which my father and stepmother invented, was vindicated'". London: The Observer.
  5. ^ Odone, Cristina (4 June 2008). "Obituary: Lorenzo Odone". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  6. ^ a b Cristina Odone (31 October 2009). "The stepmothers' survival guide". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  7. ^ a b c Hebblethwaite, Peter (26 February 1993). "Lorenzo's sister edits Catholic paper". National Catholic Reporter.
  8. ^ a b "Cristina Odone". Centre for Policy Studies. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  9. ^ Brown, Andrew (18 August 1996). "After the apocalypse, enter Ms Jones". The Independent.
  10. ^ Cripps, Charlotte (12 November 2002). "Media: My greatest mistake: 32 – Cristina Odone, Deputy Editor of the New Statesman". The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 October 2010.
  11. ^ Rowan, David (3 November 2004). "Interview: Cristina Odone, New Statesman (Evening Standard)". David Rowan. Archived from the original on 14 May 2006.
  12. ^ Rowan, David (11 April 2004). "New Left is up to its old tricks". The Scotsman. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  13. ^ Description of Dispatches programme
  14. ^ Odone, Cristina (11 July 2011). "I fell out with Johann Hari – then 'David Rose' started tampering viciously with my Wikipedia entry". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  15. ^ Green, David Allan (15 September 2011). "The tale of Mr Hari and Dr Rose". New Statesman. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  16. ^ "Cristina Odone". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  17. ^ Odone, Cristina (1996). The Shrine. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-81661-6.
  18. ^ Odone, Cristina (1997). A Perfect Wife. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-81811-2.
  19. ^ Odone, Cristina (2008). The Dilemmas of Harriet Carew. HarperPress. ISBN 0-00-726365-1.
  20. ^ Odone, Cristina (2009). The Good Divorce Guide. HarperPress. ISBN 0-00-728973-1.
  21. ^ Stanford, Peter (2005). Why I am still a Catholic. London: Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-8577-4.
  22. ^ Odone, Cristina (21 January 2009). "How to meet and marry a man after 40". The Daily Telegraph. London.

External links edit

  • Cristina Odone's blog for The Daily Telegraph
  • Cristina Odone, profile and list of Odone's articles for The Guardian
  • New Statesman Archive: Cristina Odone, a list of Odone's articles for the New Statesman