L. J. K. Setright

Early life and education

Setright was born in London to Australian parents; his father, Henry Roy Setright, was an engineer who invented the Setright ticket machine used on buses and trams. He died when Setright was 11 years old. Setright attended Palmers Green Grammar school before studying law at the University of London which he practised for a time but hated the profession. His National Service was served in the Royal Air Force as an air traffic controller.

Writing career

After writing for the engineering magazine Machine Age in the early 1960s, Setright became a motoring journalist and author, contributing to Car Magazine for more than 30 years and writing several books on cars and automotive engineering.{{cite news Setright's writing style polarised readers as some considered it to be pompous and excessively esoteric, while others found his erudite style and engineering knowledge a welcome change from the usual lightweight and largely non-technical journalistic style. He had a strong enthusiasm for Bristol Cars and for Japanese engineering, in particular Honda.

Setright also wrote about music, motorcycles and high-fidelity sound systems, and contributed to, among others, Punch, The Independent, Bike, Cycle Guide/USA, Motorcycle Sport under the initials LJKS, Back Street Heroes and Car and Driver.{{cite news

Personal life

Setright was also known for his love of smoking tobacco, in particular Sobranie Black Russian cigarettes, and for his elegant sartorial style. He was described as resembling "a gaunt Old Testament prophet in Savile Row clothes". He was an accomplished clarinet player.

Setright was a practising Jew and a scholar of Judaism. He was married twice; his first wife, Christina, committed suicide in 1980. After this he spent some time in a Lubavitch community in Texas, later returning to the UK, and he settled in Surbiton, near London, where he died of cancer in 2005.

List of works

; Author

• {{cite book | title=The Grand Prix Car 1954-1966
• {{cite book | title=Ferrari, Ballantines Illustrated History of the Car, Marque Book No. 5 | publisher=Ballantine Books | year=1971 | isbn=0-345-02343-9 |author-mask=2
• {{cite book | title=Rolls-Royce, Ballantine's Illustrated History of the Car, Marque Book No. 7 | publisher=Ballantine Books | year=1971 | isbn=0-345-02386-2 |author-mask=2
• {{cite book | title=The Power to Fly: The Development of the Piston Engine in Aviation | publisher=Allen & Unwin | year=1971 | isbn=0-04-338041-7 |author-mask=2
• {{cite book | title=Automobile Tyres | publisher=Chapman and Hall | year=1972 | isbn=978-0412098505 |author-mask=2
• {{cite book |author-mask=2
• {{cite book | title=Bristol Cars and Engines | publisher=Motor Racing Publications Ltd |year=1974 | isbn=0-900549-22-X |author-mask=2
• {{cite book |author-mask=2
• {{cite book |author-mask=2
• {{cite book | title=The Designers: Great Automobiles and the Men Who Made Them | year=1976 | publisher=Follet Publishing | isbn=0-695-80584-3 |author-mask=2
• {{Cite book |title= Motorcycles |publisher= Weidenfeld & Nicolson |year= 1976 |isbn= 978-0-297-77234-7 |author-mask=2
• {{cite book | title=Turbocharging and Supercharging for maximum power and torque | publisher=J H Haynes | year=1976 | isbn=0-85429-184-9 |author-mask=2
• {{cite book |title = Anatomy of the Automobile |author-link = L. J. K. Setright |author-mask = 2 |url-access = registration
• {{cite book |author-mask=2
• {{cite book |author-mask=2
• {{cite book | title=Mercedes-Benz SL and SLC | publisher=Motorbooks International | year=1999 | isbn=1-85532-880-1 |author-mask=2
• {{cite book | title=Mini : The Design Icon of a Generation | publisher=Virgin Books | year=1999 | isbn=1-85227-815-3 |author-mask=2
• {{cite book | title=Drive On!: A Social History of the Motor Car | publisher=Granta Books | year=2004 | isbn=1-86207-698-7 |author-mask=2
• {{cite book | title=Long Lane with Turnings: Last Words of a Motoring Legend | publisher=Granta Books | year=2006 | isbn=1-86207-872-6 |author-mask=2
• {{cite book | title=A day to remember | publisher=Uitgeverij Nobelman | year=2017 | isbn=978-949173-729-9 |author-mask=2
• {{cite book | title=A day to remember, the writings of L.J.K. Setright for GranTurismo Magazine | publisher=Uitgeverij Nobelman | year=2019 | isbn=978-94-917373-0-5 ; Coauthor
• {{Cite book |last1=Hough |first1=Richard Alexander
• {{Cite book

; Editor

• {{Cite book |editor-last= Setright |editor-first=L. J. K.
• {{Cite book |editor-last= Setright |editor-first=L. J. K.

References

References

1. Orosz, Peter. (20 January 2012). "Drive On! Is the Greatest Book About Cars Ever Written".