Michael Cox is the editor of The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories and The Oxford Book of Victorian Detective Stories. In 1974, in between releasing records for EMI under the name Matthew Ellis, he began what was to become The Meaning of Night. Fifteen years later, having given up his musical career, he became an editor at Oxford University Press. He lives with his wife in rural Northamptonshire, where The Meaning of Night is partly set.
From the Hardcover edition.