Richard Walker spent part of his childhood in Ghana, read English at Oxford, and worked in Canada, Spain and Kuwait, before joining the British Council. Much of his subsequent professional life was spent travelling the world as a senior Director for the British Council. This brought him postings in Bangkok, New Delhi, Sao Paolo, Lagos, Cyprus, Athens, Brussels and Hong Kong. Now he divides his time between his home in Oxford, and the house and garden he and Lauren created by a Venetian town in the Peloponnese. Several of his stories and plays have been broadcast by the BBC, and in 1989 he published his first novel, A Curious Child. Innovative for being written from the perspective of a transgender person, this is also due to be republished by Amaurea Press in 2025. He was awarded an OBE in 1998 for Indo-British cultural relations.

“Entirely admirable account of the decline and degeneration of a prosperous, ‘normal’, middle-class English family. The prose is consistently exquisite.” (The Times)

“Beautifully observed social tragic-comedy ... the depiction of the older generation’s hopes and frustrations is quite remarkable.” (Punch)

“A remarkably daring first novel.” (The Scotsman)

“Richard Walker is a master of the time-splicing device ... an impressive first novel.” (The Irish Times)

“An intelligent, thought-provoking novel ... a welcome antidote to all those sweetness-and-light family sagas.” (Forum)