Ian Mortimer has BA and PhD degrees in history from Exeter University and an MA in archive studies from University College London. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Socity in 1998, and was awarded the Alexander Prize (2004) by the Roayl Historical Society for his work on the social history of medicine. He is the author of two other medieval biographies, The Greatest Traitor: The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer and The Perfect King: The Life of Edward III, published in 2003 and 2006 respectively by Jonathan Cape.
[Mortimer] has an instinctive sympathy for the men about whom he writes, a real understanding of the mentalities of late medieval England, and a vivid historical imagination which lends colour and excitement to his pages Literary Review Mortimer's book is a success and tells an important story very well -- Richard Francis Daily Telegraph An arresting and original biography -- Jessie Childs Sunday Telegraph [It] possesses the rare combination of clarity, liveliness, balanced judgement, erudition without pedantry, and scholarship founded on his own research among primary sources Scotland on Sunday The book is at its most compelling in conjuring a sense of place or occasion Guardian