Meirion James Trow (born 16 October 1949) is a Welsh author of crime fiction, who writes under the name M. J. Trow. He has written mysteries featuring

Inspector Lestrade Detective Inspector G. Lestrade, or Mr. Lestrade ( or ), is a fictional character appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Lestrade's first appearance was in the first Sherlock Holmes story, the novel '' ...

, Peter Maxwell, Kit Marlowe and Margaret Murray.

Biography

Trow was born in Ferndale, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wales. He went to

Warwick School Warwick School is a selective, independent day and boarding school in Warwick, England in the public school tradition. Known until about 1900 as King's School, Warwick, it is believed to have been founded by Æthelflæd of Mercia in 914 AD ...

from 1961 to 1968. In 1968 he went to

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

to read history. After graduation he spent a year at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes ...

. From 1972 he was a history teacher in

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948). It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and ...

in Hertfordshire. On 14 July 1973 he married Carol Mary Long and in 1976 moved to the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Is ...

where he worked as a teacher of History and Politics at Ryde High School. Trow is a member of the

Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. , it represents over 12,000 members and ass ...

and of the

Crime Writers' Association The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors’ organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its Dagger awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. T ...

. Trow is also known in some circles for his work in theatre and dramas, organising and participating in many performances. Earlier in 2008 he appeared on the Channel 4 show

Richard & Judy ''Richard & Judy'' (also known as ''Richard & Judy's New Position'') is a British television chat show presented by the married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. The show originally aired on Channel 4 from 26 November 2001 to 22 Augus ...

talking about his book ''Spartacus: The Myth and the Man''.

Works

Fiction

Trow has written over 50 fiction books, in three main series.

'Inspector Lestrade' books, based on the character from the
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
stories.

'Peter Maxwell', featuring a teacher and amateur sleuth.

# ''Maxwell's House'' (1994) # ''Maxwell's Flame'' (1995) # ''Maxwell's Movie'' (1997) # ''Maxwell's War'' (1999) # ''Maxwell's Ride'' (2000) # ''Maxwell's Curse'' (2000) # ''Maxwell's Reunion'' (2001) # ''Maxwell's Match'' (2002) # ''Maxwell's Inspection'' (2003) # ''Maxwell's Grave'' (2004) # ''Maxwell's Mask'' (2005) # ''Maxwell's Point'' (2007) # ''Maxwell's Chain'' (2008) # ''Maxwell's Revenge'' (2009) # ''Maxwell's Retirement'' (2010) # ''Maxwell's Island'' (2011) # ''Maxwell's Crossing'' (2012) # ''Maxwell's Return'' (2014) # ''Maxwell's Academy'' (2015) # ''Maxwell's Summer'' (2020) # ''Maxwell's Zoom'' (2022)

'Kit Marlowe', featuring the playwright and poet as detective.

# ''Dark Entry'' (2011) # ''Silent Court'' (2011) # ''Witch Hammer'' (2012) # ''Scorpions's Nest'' (2012) # ''Crimson Rose'' (2013) # ''Traitor's Storm'' (2014) # ''Secret World'' (2015) # ''Eleventh Hour'' (2017) # ''Queen's Progress'' (2018) # ''Black Death'' (2019) # ''The Reckoning'' (2020) The Kit Marlowe series is published by

Severn House Severn House Publishers is an independent publisher of fiction in hardcover and ebooks. Severn House specialises in publishing mid-list authors in both the UK and the USA. Established in 1974, Severn House began republishing out-of-print titles ...

. ‘Margaret Murray’, featuring a great feminist. # Four Thousand Days (2021)

Other work

'Britannia' (co-written with Richard Denham), set in Sub-Roman Britain.

# ''Part I: The Wall'' (2014) # ''Part II: The Watchmen'' (2014) # ''Part III: The Warlords'' (2016) # ''World of Britannia: Historical Companion to the Britannia Series'' (2016)

Non-fiction

*''Let Him Have It, Chris'' (1990), on which the film ''

Let Him Have It ''Let Him Have It'' is a 1991 British drama film directed by Peter Medak and starring Christopher Eccleston, Paul Reynolds, Tom Courtenay and Tom Bell. The film is based on the true story of Derek Bentley, who was convicted of the murder of a p ...

'' (1991) was based *''The Wigwam Murder'', based on the ''

August Sangret August Sangret (28 August 1913 – 29 April 1943) was a French-Canadian soldier, convicted and subsequently hanged for the September 1942 murder of 19-year-old Joan Pearl Wolfe in Surrey, England. This murder case is also known as the "Wigwam M ...

'' case. (1994, republished by ''T Squared Books'' in 2016) *''The Many Faces of Jack the Ripper'' (1997) *''Who Killed Kit Marlowe?: a Contract to Murder in Elizabethan England'' (2001) *''Vlad the Impaler: in Search of the Real Dracula'' (2003) *''Boudicca'' (2004) *''Cnut: Emperor of the North'' (2005) *''Spartacus: the Myth and the Man'' (2006) *''The Pocket Hercules'' (2006) *''El Cid: the Making of a Legend'' (2007) *''War Crimes: Underworld Britain in the Second World War'' (2008) *''A Brief History of Vampires'' (2010) *''Ripper Hunter: Abberline and the Whitechapel Murders'' (2012) *''A Brief History of Cleopatra'' (2013)

References

External links

Britannia series official websiteM. J. Trow
at Fantastic Fiction
T Squared Books official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trow, M. J. 1949 births Living people People from Ferndale, Rhondda Cynon Taf Welsh novelists Welsh crime novelists People educated at Warwick School Alumni of King's College London