Graham Watson, 89; Literary Agent to Vidal, Steinbeck, Du Maurier

Graham Watson, 89, a British literary agent who once represented John Steinbeck, Gore Vidal and other luminaries, died of undisclosed causes Nov. 14 in Rye, England.

Watson joined Curtis Brown, a major London literary agency, as head of its American book department in 1947. Over the next three decades, he represented more than 40 authors, including Daphne du Maurier, Randolph Churchill, John O’Hara, C.P. Snow and Harold MacMillan. He served as the firm’s managing director for 15 years, until his retirement in 1980.

Born into a wealthy family in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Watson attended Cambridge University. In 1934, he joined Nicholson and Watson, a publishing firm co-founded by his elder brother and financed by their father.

After serving with the Royal Artillery during World War II, he joined the weekly magazine The Spectator, which was owned by his father.