Peter Rowland

Peter Rowland was born in 1938 and has lived in NE London all his life. Was married for more than 30 years but, sadly, became a widower in 1993. Graduated with honours from Bristol University in 1960. Worked in local government (primarily the Greater London Council) until 1998, but pursued a parallel career as a historian and biographer (and occasional novelist).

His most well-known achievements, to date, have been a biography of David Lloyd George (1975) and engaging the services of Mr Sherlock Holmes to solve the mystery of Edwin Drood (1991). But he has tackled a considerable number of other subjects and rediscovered 'Lanoe Falconer' (pseudonym of Victorian author Mary E. Hawker), writing her biography and tracking down many of her "lost" stories. A biography of William George, Lloyd George's father, broke fresh ground in 2014.

In 1999 he produced the first-ever biography of E.W. Hornung, creator of Raffles, and lamented that raw materials were in short supply. But the subsequent discovery of a totally unknown collection of Hornung papers, augmented by much material from elsewhere, has transformed the situation. Since 2014 he has concentrated solely on producing a fresh and definitive biography of Willie Hornung (to be published in 2019, all being well) and, in the meantime, has deciphered and published the texts of three of Hornung's unfinished novels, plus two new collections of his unknown short stories. Contributes occasional reviews to Amazon. Interests include vintage films, rambling, photography and music.

See www.peterrowland.org.uk for more information.