author
Douglas Woodruff
1897–1978
A sharp-witted English Catholic journalist and man of letters, he helped shape religious and cultural debate in Britain for decades. Best known for his long editorship of The Tablet, he also wrote widely on history, politics, and figures such as Hilaire Belloc.
1 Audiobook
Plato's American Republic : Done out of the original
by Douglas Woodruff
About the author
Born in 1897, Douglas Woodruff was educated at Downside School and New College, Oxford. At Oxford he joined the Union debating team, and later built a reputation as an essayist, critic, and public intellectual with strong ties to English Catholic literary life.
He is most closely associated with The Tablet, which he edited from 1936 to 1967. Sources describe his tenure as a period when the paper became a leading voice of English Catholicism. He also served as chairman of the Catholic publishing house Burns & Oates from 1948 to 1962, extending his influence beyond journalism into religious publishing.
Woodruff was a friend of writers including Evelyn Waugh and was especially known for his interest in Hilaire Belloc. His books ranged across history, religion, and politics, including works on Charlemagne, church and state, and the famous Tichborne case. He died in 1978.