Clifford Peacock

Following grammar school and national service in the infantry in Austria, Clifford was a district officer in Kenya from 1957 until independence in 1964. He worked on the provision of water supplies in the rugged north west of Nyanza Province. Returning to England he trained as a technical teacher and lectured in the science department of a Birmingham College. He gained a master's degree at Salford university and later a PhD in Dundee University medical school where he was a senior lecturer in occupational medicine.

His first book, 'The Mutineer's Return', is published on Kindle and tells of Christian's legendary escape from Pitcairn Island and his return to England. The story of Fletcher's return persists in the Lake District to this day; his brother was a prominent lawyer and reputedly shielded him from arrest.

'The Cruel Trade' was published by Robert Hale Ltd in 2012. It describes a slave and ivory expedition to the little known interior of East Africa. Clifford's experience in an area of Kenya once ravaged by slavers, has resulted in a powerful novel, rich in detail. The book was discussed in the Historic Novels Review in November 2012 and is available in e-format.

'Crowning Deception' will be published by Robert Hale in August 2013. Based on fact, it is the story of an audacious jewellery theft involving Magda Lupescu, the long-term mistress of King Carol of Romania, and her secret lover, one of the king's secretaries. The plot involves intrigue, great passion, deceit and betrayal, and has a most surprising ending.