About Author

Peter Ackroyd

Peter Ackroyd
  • Genre:

    Mystery Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Biographies & Memoirs History General Nonfiction
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Books: 4
  • Profession: Author, Biographer, Historian, Literary Critic
  • Born: 5 October
  • Member Since: Jul 2025
  • Profile Views: 472
  • Followers: 9
BIOGRAPHY

I am a British author, biographer, and historian with a lifelong fascination for London, English literature, and the layers of history that shape identity and culture. My work spans novels, biographies, cultural histories, and literary criticism. Whether writing about Charles Dickens, William Blake, or the River Thames, I seek to uncover the hidden connections between past and present. I’ve published over 40 books, including Hawksmoor, Chatterton, London: The Biography, and multi-volume histories of England. My writing often blends imagination with meticulous research, illuminating the spirit of place and the echoes of time.

Peter Ackroyd's Books

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Book
Civil War Volume III (History of England)
Paperback,
Civil War Volume III (History of England)by Peter AckroydPublish: May 07, 2015Series: History of England (Volume?3)Historical Fiction
Foundation: The History of England Volume I (The History of England, 1)
$24.43 kindleeBook, Audio,
Foundation: The History of England Volume I (The History of England, 1)by Peter AckroydPublish: Mar 29, 2012Series: The History of England (Volume?I of?VI)Historical Fiction
Rebellion: The History of England from James I to the Glorious Revolution
$12.99 kindleeBook, Paperback, Audio,
Rebellion: The History of England from James I to the Glorious Revolutionby Peter AckroydPublish: Oct 21, 2014Series: (History of England, Volume 3 of 6)Historical Fiction Biographies & Memoirs General Nonfiction
Tudors: The History of England from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I
$12.99 kindleeBook, Paperback, Audio,
Tudors: The History of England from Henry VIII to Elizabeth Iby Peter AckroydPublish: Oct 08, 2013Biographies & Memoirs History General Nonfiction

Peter Ackroyd's Series in Order

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  • History of England (Volume?3)

    1 Civil War Volume III (History of England) - Published on May, 2015
  • The History of England (Volume?I of?VI)

    1 Foundation: The History of England Volume I (The History of England, 1) - Published on Mar, 2012
  • (History of England, Volume 3 of 6)

    1 Rebellion: The History of England from James I to the Glorious Revolution - Published on Oct, 2014

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      • Peter Ackroyd Peter Ackroyd 4 months ago
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      • Yes, from an early age I was drawn to language, books, and the rhythms of storytelling. I wrote poetry as a boy and was reading Dickens, Eliot, and Blake before I fully understood them. I didn’t think of it as a “career” in a conventional sense, but I always sensed that writing and history, would be my lifelong companions. It was never a question of if, but how.
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    • AllAuthor AllAuthor 4 months ago
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    • What is that one thing you think readers generally don't know about your specific genre?
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      • Peter Ackroyd Peter Ackroyd 4 months ago
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      • Many readers might not realize how deeply interpretative history writing is. It’s not just the recitation of facts, it’s a reconstruction of voice, atmosphere, and meaning. Particularly with literary biography and cultural history, you are constantly negotiating between documented truth and the inner lives of historical figures, whose motivations are often ambiguous. In that way, nonfiction can be as creatively demanding as fiction.
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      • Peter Ackroyd Peter Ackroyd 4 months ago
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      • I tend to write early in the day, usually beginning in the quiet morning hours. I believe in discipline and consistency, so I write daily, often for four to five hours at a stretch. Much of my work is research-based, so I often alternate between writing and poring through archival materials, historical documents, or literary sources. I prefer longhand drafts and type them later. The solitude of writing suits me well.
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      • Peter Ackroyd Peter Ackroyd 4 months ago
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      • Publishing Notes for a New Culture in 1976 gave me a clearer awareness of form, tone, and reader engagement. It shifted writing from a private endeavor into a public dialogue. I became more deliberate, balancing research with storytelling, and thought with clarity. It was the beginning of a lifelong rhythm of researching, structuring, and layering meaning into both fiction and nonfiction.
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      • Peter Ackroyd Peter Ackroyd 4 months ago
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      • I began writing seriously in the early 1970s, though I had been composing poetry and essays since childhood. Literature was always central to my life, I was reading T.S. Eliot and Charles Dickens as a teenager and felt an early connection to language, rhythm, and the hidden narratives of history. My first published book, Notes for a New Culture, was released in 1976, and I’ve been writing continuously ever since, now for nearly 50 years.
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