William Donaldson

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William Donaldson (4 January 1935 – 22 June 2005) was a British satirist and writer who became famous for creating Henry Root and the Henry Root Letters.

Born in Sunningdale, Berkshire, he was the son of Charles Glen Donaldson, who ran a large shipping company, and Elizabeth Stockley. He grew up in a privileged household and studied at Winchester College and Magdalene College, Cambridge. He supported young writers like Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath and did his National Service in the Royal Navy, where he reached the rank of Sub-Lieutenant.

After the Navy, Donaldson worked in theatre and helped produce major shows, including Beyond the Fringe, with Donald Albery. He was part of the lively satirical scene around Princess Margaret.

In 1968 he inherited a fortune, and in 1971 he left Britain for Ibiza. He soon spent his last £2,000 on a glass-bottomed boat and ended up scavenging for food. He returned to London and lived with a former girlfriend who ran a Fulham Road brothel; this experience inspired his first novel, Both the Ladies and the Gentlemen (1975).

Henry Root: Donaldson created the fictitious letter writer Henry Root, whose satirical letters to the rich and famous brought him great wealth. The Root letters were published as books, and he lived at 139 Elm Park Mansions in Chelsea, from which the letters were sent. A Henry Root restaurant has been opened in his memory.

Later work: He wrote Brewer's Rogues, Villains and Eccentrics (2002), a biographical survey of roguish Britons. He also wrote novels including Is This Allowed, a semi-autobiographical work. In the 1990s he had a column in The Independent.

Personal life: He married three times. Sonia Avory (1957, divorced), Claire Gordon (1968, divorced), and Cherry Hatrick (1986). He had one son, Charlie. He had affairs with Sarah Miles and Carly Simon. He used crack cocaine for more than a decade in the 1980s and 1990s, though he said he was not addicted.

Donaldson also wrote under several other names, including Dr Kit Bryson, Jean-Luc Legris, Selina Fitzherbert (co-author with Simon Carr on The Complete Naff Guide), Talbot Church, and Liz Reed. He left a lasting mark on British satire through his sharp wit and the Henry Root letters.