Is Dust immortal then, I ask'd him, so that we may see it blowing through the Centuries? But as Walter gave no Answer I jested with him further to break his Melancholy humour: What is Dust, Master Pyne? And he reflected a little: It is particles of Matter, no doubt. Then we are all Dust indeed, are we not? And in a feigned Voice he murmered, For Dust thou art and shalt to Dust return. Then he made a Sour face, but only yo laugh the more.

The Great Fire of London Hawksmoor The House of Doctor Dee). He has long been known for his abuse of alcohol and in 1999 he suffered a heart attack and was placed in a medically induced coma for a week almost dying. It’s so untidy.

He is noted for the volume of work he has produced the range of styles therein his skill at assuming different voices and the depth of his research. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society for Literature in 1984 and created a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2003. For his novels about English history and culture and his biographies of among others Charles Dickens T.