Toby Young was sent to New York as the bright young thing of British journalism and returned as the dull middle-aged thing. Having left a PhD in Philosophy to pursue a career in journalism, Young founded and edited the bi-monthly Modern Revue for four years before leaping across the pond to work for Vanity Fair, where everything started to go rapidly downhill. After losing friends, alienating people and writing a bestselling book about it, Young is now working as the theatre critic for The Spectator and restaurant critic for ES magazine.

Tim Fountain’s stage adaptation of his book was first performed at the Soho Theatre last year, with jack Davenport playing Young.