The husband of travel writer Sara Wheeler is facing jail for breaking her arm at their home.
Peter Graham, 67, attacked his author wife in March last year, breaking her arm in three places in a domestic violence attack.
Ms Wheeler, 56, is a respected travel writer noted for her accounts of the polar regions, whose work includes the international bestseller Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica and The Magnetic North: Notes on the Arctic Circle.
She has also published two biographies on famous travellers and was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1999.
The attack by her husband was revealed when police were called to their home in Hampstead, north London, in February this year, Blackfriars crown court heard.
Prosecutor Babtunde Alabi said it was a “malicious call” to police but Ms Wheeler then told officers about an attack the previous year on March 26.
“Mr Graham made full admissions about it,” he told the court.
The court heard the couple, who have two sons together, are now separated, and Graham has moved to an apartment in Highbury.
He is banned from contacting Ms Wheeler but is allowed to visit the family home as long as he leaves before she returns.
Ms Wheeler has talked about their home, a converted Victorian butcher’s shop, as a treasure trove of mementoes from her travels around the world.
Graham, who was born in Quebec, Canada, was formerly the director of a Granott, a video production company, and was also in charge of a property developer in Hastings.
“This is a rather unusual case,” said Orla Daly, defending.
“Police were called out in relation to a separate incident, and during the investigation was the revelation that there had been a previous incident.
“The defendant when arrested admitted previously there had been an incident which is the subject matter of this indictment.”
Judge Rajeev Shetty freed Graham on bail until a sentencing hearing on June 7.
“You have pleaded guilty to a serious matter, and all options are open including potentially the possibility of custody”, he said.
Graham, of Highbury, pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm.
