More than a Grain of Truth: The Official Biography of Gareth Jones

by Margaret Siriol Colley, Nigel Linsan Colley

The true story behind the film Mr. Jones, starring James Norton.

Who murdered Gareth Jones?

Gareth Jones, a young Welsh journalist and Foreign Affairs adviser to Lloyd George, died in mysterious circumstances on the eve of his 30th birthday in 1935 in Inner Mongolia having been captured and held for ransom by bandits.

He flew with Hitler in February 1933 and a month later became the first journalist to expose the famine then raging across the Soviet Union. In telling the truth, instead of being feted, he was denigrated by other Moscow correspondents, blackballed by the British establishment and blacklisted by the Soviet secret police.

In this stunning biography Margaret Siriol Colley uses her uncle's letters, articles and diaries to create a picture of a man who was not afraid to tell the truth, whatever the cost.

This new and revised edition of More Than a Grain of Truth is a fascinating account of the life of a brave Welsh hero written by someone who knew him personally. It is also a searing social and political history of the early thirties

More Than a Grain of Truth is a fascinating account of one brave journalist and is a social history of the early thirties.

Print version coming soon.

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, Politics, Memoir

580 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 31, 2005

Reviews

[Bella · Rating 4 out of 5]

rest in peace Gareth Jones you would've loved debating conservatives on jubilee :(

[John Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gareth Jones was a prodigious writer. He had many newspaper articles published about political and economic events, he wrote many letters primarily to his parents, and he kept multiple diaries. His niece and her son, the authors of "More Than a Grain of Truth," seem to have researched everything that he wrote as well as what other journalists of the period were writing, and the book is an insightful look at his life and death. This book was originally published in 2005 and was updated and re-published in 2020 (with the subtitle added) by editor Naomi Field after the authors died in the interim.

This book is an penetrating supplement to the powerful 2020 movie “Mr. Jones.” The two main themes of the movie are (1) the conflict between the principled journalist Gareth Jones, who is fighting to expose the truth about the Ukraine Holodomor, and the cynical Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Walter Duranty, who is trying to protect his reputation and his hedonistic Moscow lifestyle, and (2) the cover up of the Holodomor, which the world tolerated in order not to alienate Joseph Stalin.

The book shows that the essence of these themes, although over-simplified and over-dramatized, are accurately captured in the movie. Among the over-dramatized elements of the movie is the difficulty that Jones experienced in getting his articles describing the Holodomor published in newspapers. In both the movie and book, he was in Moscow and Ukraine in March, 1933. But, while the movie portrayed Jones as facing resistance to getting his account published, and ultimately making a desperate plea to William Randolph Hearst; the book reports that he had several articles describing the severity of the Holodomor published in the (London) Daily Express (at the time the largest circulation newspaper in the world) in April, 1933.

It should be noted that Jones was very perceptive about most political and economic issues, but he seemed unenlightened on some of the malevolent implications of FDR’s New Deal. He praised Social Security, not realizing at the time that it was an unsustainable Ponzi scheme. In this respect he was in opposition to William Randolph Hearst, who perceived that FDR was setting dangerous precedents; but the two had a close relationship and Jones spent time at Hearst’s San Simeon castle in January, 1935.

In addition to being a journalist, Gareth Jones was employed by David Lloyd George (prime minister of Great Britain from 1916 to 1922 and member of Parliament from 1890 to 1955) and Ivy Lee (American businessman and author) to provide research and analysis of current world events. He was also a popular speaker, and it is likely that he would be a well-respected television pundit if he were alive and working today.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gareth Jones was a remarkable man by anyone’s standards, highly talented, fearless and determined to uncover the truth whatever the risks. He was a campaigning journalist, one-time advisor to Lloyd George, an expert linguist, and travelled widely. He was a prolific, and much in demand writer, and knew many of the movers and shakers of his time. In particular he is remembered for his exposé of the Holodomor in Ukraine, an exposé that might have contributed to his murder, as not surprisingly it gained him many enemies in the Soviet Union. His untimely end came on the eve of his 30th birthday when he was captured and held to ransom by bandits in Inner Mongolia. His murder is still shrouded in mystery. Yet in spite of his many achievements he faded from public view. His niece Margaret Siriol Colley was determined to right this wrong and after her retirement compiled this compelling biography, based on letters, diaries and articles by Jones himself and those he met. This is a new and revised edition and makes for some absorbing reading. Not only is it a thorough and comprehensive biography, but also gives a fascinating insight into the world of international relations and the journalism of the era. Now rescued from obscurity, not least by the issue of the recent film Mr Jones, Gareth Jones lives again as he so much deserves to. Highly recommended.

[Debbie]

Have no idea how to rate this book. If I was researching Garett Jones or this time period, it would have to be a 5. But for an every day reader like myself, more like a 2or 3. So detailed and extensive, it was not a book that captured my interest, as you can tell by how long it took me to complete it. I kept putting it aside to read other books.

[Michelle Kidwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

More Than a Grain of Truth
The official true story behind the film 'Mr. Jones'
by Dr. Margaret Siriol Colley

Endeavour Media


Biographies & Memoirs , History

Pub Date 07 Feb 2020


I am reviewing a copy of More Than a Grain of Truth through Endeavour Media and Netgalley:


Garreth Jones was a young Welsh Journalist who was born in 1905 and died under mysterious circumstances on the eve of his thirtieth birthday in 1935. He had also been the foreign affairs to Lloyd Jones. He had been captured by bandits in Mongolia and held for ransom, but it is uncertain who murdered him.



In February of 1933 he flew Hitler in February of 1933 and a month later he became the first journalist to expose the famine that had been raging throughout the Soviet Union. Telling the truth at the time meant that instead of being feted by other Moscow Correspondents he was denigrated by Moscow Correspondence blackballed by the British Establishment and blackballed by the Soviet Secret Police.



Using her uncles, letters, diaries and articles, Margaret Siriol Colley creates a picture of a man who was not afraid to tell the truth, even at the cost of his own life.



I found More Than A Grain of Truth, five out of five stars.



Happy Reading!

[Wes Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a good follow-up to the movie “Mr. Jones.” It both corrected some of the things inevitably changed in a “based on” film and, of course, added more information the film could provide. Both provide an understanding of what Stalin did to the Ukrainians in order to feed the rest of the USSR and how the Western media were duped by reporters willing to parrot the party line rather than challenging Stalin by investigating his claims for themselves.

[Michael Layden]

I'm

[One Sentence Audio Critic · Rating 5 out of 5]

The movie that is the basis of MR. JONES, a must read for any teacher whose curriculum includes ANIMAL FARM.