Robert Barclay

I'm the author of several books on the history, development and conservation of historic musical instruments. I am a maker of historic-model trumpets after 17th and 18th century originals, and I teach workshops in trumpet-making. After a long career of writing factual technical material, I decided it was time to start telling lies. Nevertheless, my fictional works all embody elements of truth because, I argue, the news these days is so unbelievable that "you couldn't invent this stuff!" In addition to writing, I enjoy driving around in my 1920 Morgan three-wheeler, which I restored from a heap of bits. Also, I'm not averse to picking up a paintbrush: waiting forever for a publisher to produce a cover for 'Jacob the Trumpeter', I got impatient and decided to paint the cover picture myself. I knew the character much better than any artist could anyway, and the result is not bad. I won't give up my day job, though.