About Tom Holt

Tom Holt was born in London in September 1961. At Oxford he studied bar billiards, ancient Greek agriculture and the care and feeding of small, temperamental Japanese motorcycle engines; interests which led him, perhaps inevitably, to qualify as a solicitor and emigrate to Somerset, where he specialised in death and taxes for seven years before going straight in 1995. Now a full-time writer, Tom lives in Somerset, with his wife, one daughter and the unmistakable scent of blood, wafting in on the breeze from the local meat-packing plant.

Well known for his acclaimed comic novels, Holt has also published a volume of poetry (at the age of thirteen) and two sequels to E.F. Benson's Lucia series. These are now out of print. He has also written five historical novels under the name Thomas Holt.

In 2006, Tom was one of a range of bestselling writers, including Joanna Trollope, Maeve Binchy and Richard Branson, who took part in Quick Reads, a major literacy initiative for World Book Day. For further information visit www.worldbookday.com.