Roland Vernon was born on 1 February 1961 to an English mother and an Italian father (who has played no part in his life, but is a distinguished writer and businessman). He was fostered until the age of eight, after which he went to live with his mother in Vienna.
He has published novels, biographies of musicians, and Star in the East, a biography of the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti. His second novel, The Maestro’s Voice, was published in 2010, and a third novel, The Good Wife"s Castle, in April 2012 He went to Eton College, King"s College, Cambridge (where he was a choral scholar), and the Royal College of Music. After graduating, with a degree in history of art, Roland Vernon trained as an opera singer and for a short while pursued a career as a professional singer.
This was followed by two years as a manager at Nimbus Records.
In 1991 he began writing professionally, meanwhile also starting his own marquee company. Since 1988 his home has been in Somerset.
His début novel, A Dark Enchantment, won the Daily Mail First Novel Award. In 1989 Roland Vernon won the Ian Street James Award for fiction - for a short story which was published by Collins/Fontana. This went on to win the Daily Mail First Novel Award, and was published in 2008 by Transworld Books.
