William Boyd was born in Ghana. He was brought up there and in Nigeria. He was educated at the universities of Nice, Glasgow and Oxford. He is the author of seven previous novels and the recipient of many awards including the Whitbread First Novel, the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Sunday Express Book of the Year Award. An Ice-Cream War was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He is married and lives in Chelsea, London.
The Black Eden (2023) Richard T Kelly "A wonderfully evocative and atmospheric novel, written with great narrative assurance and remarkable, meticulous detail. A tremendous achievement."
To Battersea Park (2023) Philip Hensher "A brilliantly conceived and audacious novel from one of our most consistently intelligent and beguiling writers."
Sins of the Fathers (2022) (Wolf , book 2) Herbert J Stern and Alan A Winter "A superb and exciting blend of intrigue and history that will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end."
The Plant Hunter (2022) T L Mogford "It's a great Stevensonian adventure but with a 21st century spin. Harry and Clarissa work really well - wholly believable and sexily engaging. The detail and the textures throughout are exemplary: lightly worn but dripping with atmosphere and exotic life. Really brilliantly achieved."
The Paper Palace (2021) Miranda Cowley Heller "A beautifully constructed, wonderfully intelligent and beguiling novel, rich with a multitude of pleasures."
The Island of Missing Trees (2021) Elif Shafak "A wonderfully transporting and magical novel that is, at the same time, revelatory about recent history and the natural world and quietly profound."
The Answer to Everything (2021) Luke Kennard "A tremendous novel funny, shrewd, poignantly destabilising and charged with Luke Kennard’s laconic wit and his gimlet eye for the foibles and nuances of human behaviour. A huge success."
The Sandpit (2020) Nicholas Shakespeare "A remarkable contemporary thriller with shades of Graham Greene and Le Carré about it but also a profound and compelling investigation of a hugely complex human predicament. Brilliantly observed, captivatingly written, grippingly narrated a triumph."
We Germans (2020) Alexander Starritt "We Germans is a remarkable and audacious novel that is harrowingly real and, at the same time, asks the most searching questions about men at war."
Independence Square (2020) A D Miller "A tremendous novel - taut, compelling, reeking of authenticity. A.D. Miller writes with exemplary precision and sophistication. Independence Square is an unsparing examination of human beings caught up in historical forces they can barely comprehend."
Lomita For Ever (2019) Trevor Eve "At once audacious, coolly knowing, highly observant and wryly funny."
In the Full Light of the Sun (2019) Clare Clark "A completely fascinating novel about the early 20th century art world and its many dubious machinations. Expertly researched, compellingly narrated and full of potent resonance today."
Too Close (2018) Natalie Daniels "A tremendous, powerful, audacious novel - full of scathing insight ; full of raw, compelling feeling."
Only to Sleep (2018) (Philip Marlowe) Lawrence Osborne "A brilliant Raymond Chandler continuation novel with an ageing Philip Marlowe. Osborne and Chandler are a perfect match."
Nice Jumper (2018) Tom Cox "Does for golf what Fever Pitch did for football...Funny, cleaver and all-too-horribly true."
Last Stories (2018) William Trevor "He is, I think, sui generis, and in his 12 collections (and 13 novels, and two novellas: an exhibition of near-Updikean energy), he has created a version of the short story that almost ignores the form's hundred or so years of intricate evolution. These stories stay in the mind long after they're finished because they're so solid, so deliberately shaped and directed so surely toward their solemn, harsh conclusions."
The Death of Rex Nhongo (2015) C B George "A terrific novel absolutely compelling and chilling. A wonderfully astute and forensic blend of fact and fiction, lies and truth."
Free Agent (2009) (Paul Dark Trilogy , book 1) Jeremy Duns "A wholly engrossing and sophisticated spy novel set against a forgotten corner of 20th century history. Fascinating and compelling."
Typhoon (2008) Charles Cumming "Compelling, vivid and disturbing. I read it at a rate of knots."
Sozaboy (1994) Ken Saro-Wiwa "...one of the great achievements of African Literature."
The Kindness of Women (1991) (Empire of the Sun, book 2) J G Ballard "The book is full of mesmerising writing, classic examples of the Ballard style, paragraphs and pages that disturb and enthral... A force is operating in this astonishing book which is hard to resist."
Alma Cogan (1991) Gordon Burn "An extraordinary, unprecidented novel, audacious, innovative and totally compelling."