Alastair Forbes, 87; British Writer, Uncle of Sen. John F. Kerry

Alastair Forbes, 87, a British writer, journalist, reviewer and gadfly who was also an uncle of Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), died Thursday in a London hospital, according to family members. No cause of death was given.

Born near London in 1918, Forbes was the son of James Grant Forbes, a lawyer from a well-known Boston family. His older sister, Rosemary, was the mother of Kerry, the Democratic nominee for president in the 2004 election. She died in 2002.

Forbes attended Cambridge University and served briefly with the Royal Marines during World War II. After the war, he embarked on a long and colorful career in British journalism. Often charming and sometime irascible, Forbes developed a circle of friends and acquaintances that included playwright Noel Coward, photographer Cecil Beaton, novelist Evelyn Waugh and James Bond creator Ian Fleming.

Once described in the Evening Standard newspaper as “the Rottweiler of English letters,” Forbes worked for several British newspapers and in later years wrote long, opinionated book reviews for publications including the Spectator magazine.

The Daily Telegraph noted Saturday that Forbes’ judgments “left many an author seething, muttering threats of revenge through clenched teeth.”