Richard Doyle (10 January 1948 – 22 June 2017) was a British author of

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

Biography

Doyle was born in

Saint Saviour, Guernsey St Saviour (Guernésiais: Saint Sauveux; ) is one of the ten parishes of Guernsey. It is situated on the west coast of the island, west of the parish of Castel, east of St Pierre du Bois, and south of Perelle bay. People from Saint Sauveux w ...

, and on his third birthday was presented at the court of Emperor Haile Selassie. He lived variously in Tripoli, Ethiopia, Kuwait, Kenya, Morocco, Libya, Beirut, Barbados,

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

, France, Greece, Ireland, and the United States. Home for several years was a plantation house in the West Indies, then on Cape Ann, followed by a fortified bastide in

Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...

. He spent a short time at Rugby School before completing his studies at the British Army school in Tripoli. He went on to read law at

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, the ...

. As a young man he taught English to the

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

n author Gabriel García Márquez. ''Deluge'', Doyle's first novel, was published in 1976. ''Imperial 109'' was published the following year and became a wild success in both the United Kingdom and the United States, selling over a million copies. His 2002 novel ''Flood'' was a best-seller and was adapted for the 2007 film of the same title. He was considered an expert on matters related to climate change and the flooding of London. He was invited to the "London Under Water" lecture from the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

's "21st Century Challenges" series in June 2008. Doyle was expelled from Tripoli by military coup, lectured on fighter training to the Italian Air Force and survived several earthquakes, two hurricanes, and a tsunami. He appeared regularly on radio and TV, talking about the flood threat, climate change, writing and his own life. Doyle lived with his wife Sally and son Caspar in Oxford. Both Doyle and his son Caspar are keen yachtsmen.

Bibliography

*''Deluge'' (1976) *'' Imperial 109'' (1977) *''Pacific Clipper'' (1987) *''Havana Special'' (1982) *''Executive Action'' (1998) * ''Flood'' (2002) *''Volcano'' (2006) *''Mute'' (2012) eBook

Notes

External links

Richard Doyle's ''Flood'' site
* British thriller writers 20th-century British novelists 21st-century British novelists People educated at Rugby School Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford Writers from Oxford 1948 births Living people Guernsey writers British male novelists 20th-century British male writers 21st-century British male writers Guernsey people {{Guernsey-bio-stub