Author of forty crime novels, set in four distinct periods of history.

Domesday Books explore the crimes and misdemeanours surrounding the compilation of Domesday in the late 11th century.

Nicholas Bracewell series features an Elizabethan theatre company.

Christopher Redmayne mysteries look at the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire of 1666.

Inspector Robert Colbeck series deals with major crimes committed on Victorian railways.

Edward Marston was born and brought up in Wales. He read Modern History at Oxford then lectured in the subject for three years before becoming a full-time freelance writer.

His first historical mystery, THE QUEEN'S HEAD, was published in 1988, launching the Nicholas Bracewell series.

This year sees the publication of SOLDIER OF FORTUNE, the first in an exciting new adventure series, set at the start of the eighteenth century and featuring Captain Daniel Rawson, soldier, spy, linguist and ladies' man.

Marston has worked as an actor and director, and once ran his own professional fringe theatre company. He has also taught drama in a prison and worked as a story editor for a film company at Pinewood. He has written over forty original plays for radio, television and the theatre, and hundreds of episodes of drama series.

But he now concentrates on developing the various series of crime novels that have come from his pen. Under the pseudonym of Conrad Allen, he has written seven nautical mysteries, set during the Edwardian era. The first, MURDER ON THE LUSITANIA, came out in 1999.

Under the name of Keith Miles, he is the author of six crime novels whose protagonist, Alan Saxon, is a professional golfer. All the titles have a contemporary setting, each book taking Saxon to a different country. The latest, HONOLULU PLAY-OFF, was published in 2004.

Keith Miles is also the author of MURDER IN PERSPECTIVE and SAINT'S REST, two architectural mysteries, set in America in the 193O's and featuring Merlin Richards.

Robber barons, Elizabethan actors, Restoration rakes, Victorian villains, Edwardian adventures, America skullduggery or corruption in the world of professional golf - take your pick. All are on offer.

REVIEWS

"Marston is a master of detail."
- Deadly Pleasures Magazine

"They are excellently written and entertaining books - unreservedly recommended."
- Mystery News

"Marston is a master storyteller."
- Contra Costa Times

"Told with great panache - this is how historical mysteries should be."
- Sherlock Holmes Magazine

PRISON (Edward Marston, September 2008) - Drawing on files at the National Archives, this is a compelling history of that most feared institution - the prison. It begins in medieval times when gaols were often located in castles or gatehouses and when their function was simply to detain prisoners until their trial. It was only centuries later that imprisonment was itself the punishment. Prison reformers like John Howard and Elizabeth Fry are reassessed. The shocking story of the prison hulks is investigated and the suffering endured by women prisoners throughout the ages is also highlighted. Wartime prisoners - whether enemies or conscientious objectors - are examined and so is the long saga of execution.