‘This fantastically entertaining alternative history of queer life in Britain... pure Victoria Wood.’
GUARDIAN Book of the Day for TALES OF THE SUBURBS

I’m John Grindrod, a social historian of modern places. I am the author of Concretopia: A Journey Around the Rebuilding of Postwar Britain (2013), Outskirts: Living Life on the Edge of the Green Belt (2017) and Iconicon: A Journey Around the Landmark Buildings of Contemporary Britain (2022). I host of a podcast, Monstrosities Mon Amour. My new book, Tales of the Suburbs: LGBTQ+ Lives Behind Net Curtains was published by Faber in March 2026.

I grew up in a housing estate called New Addington, Croydon, and my work reflects the strange jumble of urban, suburban and rural that I found on my doorstep. Using my home town as a starting point these books have been a way for me to try to understand how and why our modern towns and cities look the way they do. Each book has been a journey to teach myself – and, I hope, readers – something new, whether the story of the emergence of the estates, new towns and city centres of postwar Britain in Concretopia, the modernised countryside of the green belt in Outskirts, the more recent conflict of heritage and high tech we’ve lived through since 1980 in Iconicon, or the hidden queer lives of suburbia in Tales of the Suburbs.

‘The best history of the intersection of post-war architecture and politics (often with a small ‘p’) that you could hope for.’
OWEN HATHERLEY on CONCRETOPIA

The books are for people who, like me, are fascinated by the modern histories of our towns and cities, suburbs and outskirts, but who also aren’t quite sure what to make of them. The first three were written around my day job – I have no training in architecture or planning and I’m not an academic, I’m just a big old geek. These days I write full time. I try to write jargon-free books for a general readership, preferably with lots of silly jokes and pop culture references along the way. For each I’ve interviewed numerous people – architects, planners, builders and residents past and present. I also do a lot of walking, describing what I see and trying to understand how these places might have come about. I hope to tell the stories of these places as fairly and interestingly as I can, combining archives from the time with perspectives from the present, to explore just what happened to those initial dreams.

‘Illuminating and enjoyable . . . what truly lifts it is the personal element, above all Grindrod’s portrayal of family life.’
DAVID KYNASTON on OUTSKIRTS

The first three books form a loose trilogy about how the British have planned, built, lived and worked in new buildings and settlements over the last eighty years. I am profoundly grateful to everyone who has shared their memories with me to help write them, and to anyone who might see fit to read them.

My new book, Tales of the Suburbs, is a departure, in that it primarily tells the story of LGBTQ+ people’s lives in a place that wasn’t designed for them. Here the place is a backdrop for people to explore the curious effect of trying to discover your real self in a place that pressurises you to fit in, and about the lack of visibility back before apps and the internet made connections more easy. The book is full of very funny and moving stories. I’m going to be touring around talking about this book, so do get in touch if you’d like me to come to your bookshop, library or local organisation.

I also run a monthly podcast, Monstrosities Mon Amour, where I meet guests and talk through places and things they love but which are more usually dismissed. It’s very on brand…

‘What a breath of fresh air … A genuine celebration of places and culture it’s all too easy to dismiss.’
RADIO TIMES on MONSTROSITIES MON AMOUR

You can sign up for my Substack where I host my podcast, post original writing, tips on non-fiction writing, and information about events and things I’ve seen and liked. I really appreciate any support, thank you.