“I don't find myself interesting as a person and the details I find boring, quite frankly. You could sum it up in a few words or sentences really: came from nothing. Self-educated. Luck. Energy. Curiosity. Ambition. That's it. Nothing at all can illuminate the work as far as I can tell.”

English novelist, biographer and critic

Peter Ackroyd is an English novelist, biographer and critic, known for his work on the history and culture of London. He has built a large body of work and is widely noted for technically inventive fiction. His writing ranges across different styles, and he is praised for the way he can take on varied voices while drawing on deep research. That combination has made him a distinctive presence in contemporary English letters, with work that moves between invention, biography and literary criticism.