Mark Neal grew up on the Wirral, a peninsular near Liverpool. He currently works as an academic, and divides his time between the UK and SE Asia. Mark has written for newspapers, and has published books and articles about corruption, gambling, tourism and Buddhism. In 2010 he won an Emerald Literati Award for an article on Supervenience. Five years ago he moved to Knutsford in Cheshire and became fascinated with the Egertons of Tatton Park.