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John Ironmonger

Goodreads Author

Born

in Nairobi, Kenya

Website

https://johnironmonger.com

Twitter

jwironmonger

Genre

Contemporary, Mystery, Philosophy

Influences

John Irving, Damon Runyon, Joseph Heller,Isaac Asimov,Kurt Vonnegut,Jo ...more

Member Since

September 2011

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/jwironmonger

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I'm the author of 'Not Forgetting the Whale', (also called 'The Whale at the End of the World',) 'The many Lives of Heloise Starchild,' The Coincidence Authority,' ('Coincidence' in the USA), and 'The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder.'

I'm a Cornishman who was born in Kenya, schooled in Kent, studied in Nottingham and Liverpool, and worked in Nigeria, Slough, Manchester, Edinburgh, Warrington, Warwick and Glasgow. Now I live in Parkgate on the Wirral peninsula overlooking the RSPB marshes.

My lovely wife Sue and I are possibly the only non Indonesians ever to have seen a Javan rhino and her calf. True. You can read about it on my blog at http://notablebrain.blogspot.co.uk/20...

Apart from my family and my writing, my third passion is travel ...more

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It's so interesting to me how many of my friends on goodreads, including myself have come upon Not Forgetting the Whale during the time of the current pandemic. Of course I, like many, kept asking myself how is it that this author published a book in 2015 that was so prescient to what's happening in 2020? I guess that's my question. I have a feeling I'm not the first to ask. The book was a treasure. Thank you.

John Ironmonger Hi Sherril - I'm so pleased you enjoyed the book. It has been interesting how things have turned out – like the beached whale in Essex (did you notice…moreHi Sherril - I'm so pleased you enjoyed the book. It has been interesting how things have turned out – like the beached whale in Essex (did you notice it was a fin whale?) But someone wrote to tell me they are less sympathetic to Joe now because his raid on the wholesaler now looks like greedy hoarding – which had never occurred to me before. I'm not sure it was all that prescient. Pandemics come along quite often. I suspect it was a mixture of good research and luck (if you can call it that). Not sure why. Someone asked me recently if I thought it would ever be made into a film and I said, ‘no.’ I think the Coronavirus has probably killed off pandemic stories for a while. Everyone knows too much about pandemics now. People would be asking if there was a furlough scheme in St Piran and if Sainsbury’s were able to deliver …
I hope you get a chance to read my new novel out in August - The Many Lives of Heloise Starchild. And thanks again. :) John(less)

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How can you be a Cornishman? You don't mention Cornwall once in your bio, except to say you are a Cornishman. I lived in Cornwall for many many years, as did nearly all of my family. I love Cornwall. But I can't call myself a Cornishman because I wasn't born there. So what's the story?

John Ironmonger Ouch - maybe I'd be better off saying I don't have a county attachment - because I was born in Kenya and didn't come to live in Cornwall until I was s…moreOuch - maybe I'd be better off saying I don't have a county attachment - because I was born in Kenya and didn't come to live in Cornwall until I was seventeen. But my mother was from Cornwall - she grew up in Mevagissey - and whenever we came to the UK for holidays we'd stay with the family in Cornwall. So it felt like my home county. I even went to school for a while at the Lawn School in St Austell, and my mother kept a house in Carlyon Bay where we'd often live on visits to England. And because I came to school in England I would spend half terms and my Easter holiday with family in Cornwall. So in the absence of any other county affiliation from childhood, I have always thought of myself as Cornish. Just like you, living in Shropshire hasn't made me a Salopian. That's the story. (less)

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John Ironmonger’s books

Average rating: 4.0 · 17,181 ratings · 1,789 reviews · 10 distinct works • Similar authors

	Der Wal und das Ende der Welt by John Ironmonger (Goodreads Author), Maria Poets (Translator), Tobias Schnettler (Translator) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 12,017 ratings — published 2015 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Coincidence by J.W. Ironmonger, John Ironmonger (Goodreads Author) 3.82 avg rating — 1,760 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Das Jahr des Dugong 4.08 avg rating — 1,474 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Der Eisbär und die Hoffnung auf morgen by John Ironmonger (Goodreads Author), Tobias Schnettler (Translator) 4.29 avg rating — 1,025 ratings — published 2023 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Many Lives of Heloise Starchild 3.84 avg rating — 873 ratings — published 2020 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder by J.W. Ironmonger, John Ironmonger (Goodreads Author) 3.83 avg rating — 621 ratings — published 2012 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Die Insel der Schimpansen by John Ironmonger (Goodreads Author), Tobias Schnettler (Translator) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 18 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Front runner ; The Charm bracelet ; The precipice ; Not forgetting the whale (Reader's Digest Select Editions, Volume 4, 2016) by Felix Francis (Goodreads Author), Viola Shipman (Goodreads Author), Paul Doiron (Goodreads Author) 4.45 avg rating — 11 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Daughters of Artemis by J.W. Ironmonger, John Ironmonger (Goodreads Author) 3.67 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2002 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Good Zoo Guide by John Ironmonger (Goodreads Author), Les Grandy (Illustrator) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1992	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by John Ironmonger…

132 posts
John Ironmonger's Blog

Writing into the Dark. (Can you really write a novel with no idea of the story?)

You may want to fetch a dustpan; and perhaps a long-handledbrush. We’re going to be breaking some sacred rules here, and it could getmessy.Let’s begin with the most fundamental law of creativewriting. You must plan out your story. “I do not begin a novel until Iknow exactly how it will end,” wrote Vladimir Nabokov, and you don’t get muchmore influential advice than that. Ken Follett, the author of Read more of this blog post »

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Published on September 03, 2026 04:04

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John is Currently Reading

John Ironmonger is currently reading

Crossroads

by Jonathan Franzen

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Nov 24, 2021 11:37AM

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John’s Recent Updates

John Ironmonger wrote a new blog post CREATING ANIMAL CHARACTERS This is an article I wrote for 'Writing Magazine' exploring how I created thechimpanzee characters for my novel, ‘The Angel of St Piran.’ ‘Never work Read more of this blog post »
Sep 04, 2026 02:35AM · like
John Ironmonger made a comment on Chiara Cooper’s review of The Angel of St Piran " Thanks! "
Sep 03, 2026 03:21AM · see review
John Ironmonger and 3 other people liked Chiara Cooper's review of The Angel of St Piran: "This is probably the only author that always manages to put me in a good mood whilst reading about environmental fiction! I’ve said it before, but I love this author! Their stories are always original and full of life, whilst navigating very difficul" Read more of this review »
Sep 03, 2026 03:20AM · see review
John Ironmonger made a comment on Lesenistliebe’s review of Die Insel der Schimpansen " Thanks you "
Sep 03, 2026 03:19AM · see review
John Ironmonger liked Lesenistliebe's review of Die Insel der Schimpansen: "Angel ist Primatenforscherin und lässt sich darauf ein, die Tiere in ihrem natürlichen Reservat zu erleben. Gleichzeitig bahnt sich in ihr die Vermutung an, dass die Menschenaffen ein eigenes Sprachsystem haben. John Ironmongers Roman wirft hoch bris" Read more of this review »
Sep 03, 2026 03:19AM · see review
John Ironmonger liked William Meadwell's review of The Angel of St Piran: "Adventurous and unique, ‘The Angel of St Piran’ is a hugely entertaining exploration of belonging as a young research scientist becomes deeply involved in the lives of a group of chimpanzees in Tanzania. Blending ideas of conservation with high stake" Read more of this review »
Aug 26, 2026 01:49PM · see review
John Ironmonger made a comment on Jane Wynne’s review of The Wager and the Bear " Thanks Jane! "
Mar 05, 2025 02:53AM · see review
John Ironmonger rated a book it was amazing The Wager and the Bear by John Ironmonger (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 15, 2025 10:31AM · 2 likes · like
John Ironmonger rated a book it was amazing Jubilee by Shelley Harris	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 07, 2025 08:49AM · 1 like · like
John Ironmonger is now following Frankie Cronin's reviews
Dec 07, 2024 01:36PM · like

More of John's books…

Quotes by John Ironmonger (?)

“No one can tell you for certain if we have free will or we don't. [...] Whatever you choose to believe, you will probably want to agree with the philosopher John Locke, who argued that the whole debate is largely irrelevant. If it feels to us like free will, then let's treat it as free will and get on with our lives.”
― J.W. Ironmonger, The Coincidence Authority

tags: determinism, free-will

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“If this was death, then death was like switching off the lights in a big house; first the farthest rooms, then the dining room and the kitchen and the landing, and then the living room, and then, with the house almost in darkness, there’s time for a last look around, a farewell moment, perhaps, to see if everything is in order; and then the final switch in the hallway. Death,”
― John Ironmonger, Not Forgetting The Whale

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“Not really suicide to jump off a cliff if you’re already falling. Bit of a rubbish metaphor, but you know what I mean.”
― J.W. Ironmonger (John Ironmonger), The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder

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