Stuart Flinders is a British journalist and writer known for historical investigations into controversial figures and fringe religious movements. He is the author of Cult of a Dark Hero: Nicholson of Delhi (2023) and A Very British Cult (2024), works that draw on extensive primary material to reassess little-known or misunderstood episodes in nineteenth-century history. Flinders is also the holder of a Royal Television Society Broadcaster of the Year award.
Stuart Flinders was born in 1960 in Bolton, Lancashire, and grew up there. He studied Modern History at the University of Oxford. He later worked in Australia in printed media before joining the BBC. In 1991, he became a reporter for BBC North West Tonight, where he remained for nearly 30 years. During this period, he also presented concerts for BBC Radio 3, appeared on BBC News and BBC One bulletins, and occasionally presented the BBC Radio 4 programme You and Yours.
In October 2020, he left BBC North West Tonight as its longest-serving reporter. The following month, he anchored coverage of the US election results for Sky News.
His first historical book, Cult of a Dark Hero: Nicholson of Delhi (2023), examined the life of John Nicholson, a figure celebrated in the nineteenth century and later criticised for his role in British imperial expansion. Drawing on unpublished diaries and letters, Flinders explored Nicholson’s actions during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the devotion of his followers, and the persistence of the Nikal Seyni sect into the twenty-first century. The work assessed his personality, his ambivalence towards religion and the changing interpretation of imperial history.
A Very British Cult (2024) turned to Victorian religious extremism. The book reconstructs the story of the Agapemone, a sect founded by the Anglican priest Henry James Prince and later led by John Hugh Smyth-Pigott. Flinders follows the group’s development in Somerset and London, the claims of divine authority made by its leaders, and the experiences of the women who joined, many of whom faced isolation, pressure, and the loss of property.
Using legal records and contemporary press coverage, he documents allegations of financial fraud, forced marriages and sexual exploitation. The study highlights how a secluded religious group became a national scandal and how its leaders maintained control over followers who believed the end of the world was near.
Photo credit: X @FlindersStuart
Stuart Flinders was born in 1960 in Bolton, Lancashire, and grew up there. He studied Modern History at the University of Oxford. He later worked in Australia in printed media before joining the BBC. In 1991, he became a reporter for BBC North West Tonight, where he remained for nearly 30 years. During this period, he also presented concerts for BBC Radio 3, appeared on BBC News and BBC One bulletins, and occasionally presented the BBC Radio 4 programme You and Yours.
In October 2020, he left BBC North West Tonight as its longest-serving reporter. The following month, he anchored coverage of the US election results for Sky News.
His first historical book, Cult of a Dark Hero: Nicholson of Delhi (2023), examined the life of John Nicholson, a figure celebrated in the nineteenth century and later criticised for his role in British imperial expansion. Drawing on unpublished diaries and letters, Flinders explored Nicholson’s actions during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the devotion of his followers, and the persistence of the Nikal Seyni sect into the twenty-first century. The work assessed his personality, his ambivalence towards religion and the changing interpretation of imperial history.
A Very British Cult (2024) turned to Victorian religious extremism. The book reconstructs the story of the Agapemone, a sect founded by the Anglican priest Henry James Prince and later led by John Hugh Smyth-Pigott. Flinders follows the group’s development in Somerset and London, the claims of divine authority made by its leaders, and the experiences of the women who joined, many of whom faced isolation, pressure, and the loss of property.
Using legal records and contemporary press coverage, he documents allegations of financial fraud, forced marriages and sexual exploitation. The study highlights how a secluded religious group became a national scandal and how its leaders maintained control over followers who believed the end of the world was near.
Photo credit: X @FlindersStuart
years of life: 23 October 1960 – present
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