Career
His most notable book is Victorian Underworld, first published in 1970. The writer William Gibson has stated that his depiction of the criminal society in Neuromancer (1984) was strongly influenced by this popular work. "I literally had The Victorian Underworld on my desk constantly, throughout the writing of Neuromancer, and for years after."-William Gibson
He was born in Whimple, Devonshire, the son of Kellow and Vera Moule Chesney.
They had one daughter Charlotte Chesney.
He attended Haileybury and Imperial Service College, a boarding school situated between Hertford and Hoddesdon, about 20 miles north of central London. He then studied at Wadham College, Oxford from 1928-1933.
He served in the British Army from 1940-1946, retiring as a Lieutenant. He then entered journalism, eventually becoming a full-time writer
