Dennis Hamley grew up in Kent and Buckinghamshire. After completing his National Service in the RAF, he read English at Jesus College, Cambridge and then pursued postgraduate studies at Bristol, Manchester and Leicester, where he earned a PhD. After a career in education as a teacher, lecturer and adviser, he retired early in 1992 to write full time. His first young adult novel was published in 1974 and he has written over sixty books, both educational and for children. These include four 'crossover' novels, Spirit of the Place, Out of the Mouths of Babes, Ellen's People and Divided Loyalties, all now reissued by his imprint Joslin Books.

'In clear, lyrical prose, Dennis Hamley takes the reader on an imaginative journey through Samuel Taylor Coleridge's life, bringing the characters to life with gentleness and insight' –Kathleen Jones, author of A Passionate Sisterhood'With no discernible sleight of hand this master storyteller, with effortless assurance and prodigious skill, weaves his mighty spell and conjures before our very eyes all we will ever need to know about the most famous lines of poetry that English ever produced' –Robert Lipscombe, author of The Salamander Tree and The English Project'This novel is an interesting take on the life of Coleridge, an unacknowledged son he may have left in Sicily, and a hard-up scholar in 1820s Cambridge. It is fascinating to read about what might have happened as these three people intersect' –Merryn Williams, poet and founding editor of The Interpreter's House'A wonderful read that combines literary mystery with a quest for the ideal and leaves us with a richly satisfying resolution' –Jane Spiro