About the AuthorIan Harcourt Cavill was born in Bethnal Green, East London in 1944, but lived his formative and all his bachelor years in Hampstead, close to Hampstead Heath. Following his education at William Ellis Grammar School in Highgate, he followed a career in quantity surveying, having earlier wished to be a dentist. During a break with quantity surveying, in Moscow, as a project manager in the exhibition industry, events took place, which led him to add writing to his busy life; culminating with the production of his first children's book in 1996. He is now a full time writer, specialising in mainly children's fiction and adult short stories. He has two children, Stephanie and James, and six grandchildren. He is divorced now and lives in Surrey, with his trusty laptop and a very vivid imagination. does the new york times publish books Elle In the Village