Meirion James Trow is a writer who writes under the name M. J. Trow.

Biography

Trow was born in Ferndale, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. He went to Warwick School

Warwick School

Warwick School is an independent school with boarding facilities for boys in Warwick, England, and is reputed to be the third-oldest surviving school in the country after King's School, Canterbury and St Peter's School, York; and the oldest boy's school in England...

 from 1961 to 1968. In 1968 he went to King's College, London, to read history. After graduation he spent a year at Jesus College, Cambridge

Jesus College, Cambridge

Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...

. In 1973 he married and in 1976 moved to the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

 where he works as a teacher of History

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

 and Politics

Politics

Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...

 at Ryde High School

Ryde High School

Ryde Academy is a academy status secondary school, including sixth form, located in Ryde on the Isle of Wight, England, previously Ryde High School. A private school in the same town is known as Ryde School.-History:...

. Trow is a member of the Society of Authors

Society of Authors

The Society of Authors is a trade union for professional writers that was founded in 1884 to protect the rights of writers and fight to retain those rights .It has counted amongst its members and presidents numerous notable writers and poets including Tennyson The Society of Authors (UK) is a...

 and of the Crime Writers' Association

Crime Writers' Association

The Crime Writers Association is a writers' association in the United Kingdom. Founded by John Creasey in 1953, it is currently chaired by Peter James and claims 450+ members....

. He has worked at Ryde High School

Ryde High School

Ryde Academy is a academy status secondary school, including sixth form, located in Ryde on the Isle of Wight, England, previously Ryde High School. A private school in the same town is known as Ryde School.-History:...

 for many years and is a well known teacher and historian, and his old classroom has been renamed the 'Trow Suite' in honour of his teaching career at the school.

Trow is also known in some circles for his work in theatre and dramas, organising and participating in many performances. He is known keenly for his impressions, dry wit and takes any chance to make fun of the French

French people

The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

. He also jokes about the Welsh, despite being born in Wales.

Earlier in 2008 he appeared on the Channel 4 show Richard & Judy

Richard & Judy

Richard & Judy was a British magazine/chat show which was presented by married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. It originally aired on Channel 4 from 2001 to 2008 but later moved to digital channel Watch in October 2008. It featured the world's most famous stars, along with their Book Club...

 talking about his book 'Spartacus: The Myth and the Man'.

Fiction

Trow has written over 25 fiction books, in two main series:

• 'Inspector Lestrade' books, based on the character
  Inspector Lestrade
  Inspector G. Lestrade is a fictional character, a Scotland Yard detective appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle used the name of a friend from his days at the University of Edinburgh, a Saint Lucian medical student by the name of Joseph Alexandre Lestrade....
  
   from the Sherlock Holmes
  Sherlock Holmes
  Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
  
   stories.

• 'Books In Order Of Publication

• '1 The Adventures of Inspector Lestrade ( Set In 1891)
• '2. Brigade: Further Adventures of Inspector Lestrade ( Set In 1894)
• '3. Lestrade and the Hallowed House (Set In 1901)
• '4. Lestrade and the Leviathan (Set In 1910)
• '5. Lestrade and the Brother of Death (Set In 1912)
• '6. Lestrade and the Ripper (Set In 1888)
• '7. Lestrade and the Deadly Game (Set In 1908)
• '8. Lestrade and the Guardian Angel (Set In 1897)
• '9. Lestrade and the Gift of the Prince (Set In 1903)
• '10. Lestrade and the Magpie (Set In 1920)
• '11. Lestrade and the Dead Man's Hand (Set In 1885)
• '12. Lestrade and the Sign of Nine (Set In 1886)
• '13. Lestrade and the Sawdust Ring (Set In 1879)
• '14. Lestrade and the Mirror of Murder (Set In 1906)
• '15. Lestrade and the Kiss of Horus (Set In 1923)
• '16. Lestrade and the Devil's Own (Set In 1913)

• 'In Chronological order of Setting

• '1. Lestrade and the Sawdust Ring (Set In 1879)
• '2. Lestrade and the Dead Man's Hand (Set In 1885)
• '3. Lestrade and the Sign of Nine (Set In 1886)
• '4. Lestrade and the Ripper (Set In 1888)
• '5. The Adventures of Inspector Lestrade ( Set In 1891)
• '6. Brigade: Further Adventures of Inspector Lestrade ( Set In 1894)
• '7. Lestrade and the Guardian Angel (Set In 1897)
• '8. Lestrade and the Hallowed House (Set In 1901)
• '9. Lestrade and the Gift of the Prince (Set In 1903)
• '10. Lestrade and the Mirror of Murder (Set In 1906)
• '11.Lestrade and the Deadly Game (Set In 1908)
• '12.Lestrade and the Leviathan (Set In 1910)
• '13.Lestrade and the Brother of Death (Set In 1912)
• '14.Lestrade and the Devil's Own (Set In 1913)
• '15.Lestrade and the Magpie (Set In 1920)
• '16.Lestrade and the Kiss of Horus (Set In 1923)

• 'Peter Maxwell', featuring a teacher and amateur sleuth.

Non-fiction

• Let Him Have It, Chris (1990), on which the film Let Him Have It
  Let Him Have It
  Let Him Have It is a 1991 British film, which was based on the true story of the case against Derek Bentley, who was hanged for murder under controversial circumstances on 28 January 1953. While Bentley did not directly play a role in the murder of PC Sidney Miles, he received the greater...
  
  was based, on the August Sangret
  August Sangret
  August Sangret was a French-Canadian soldier of First Nations birth, convicted of murdering Joan Wolfe in Surrey, England and hanged. This murder case is also known as the Wigwam Murder.-Joan Wolfe:...
  
  case
• The Many Faces of Jack the Ripper (1997)
• Who Killed Kit Marlowe?: a Contract to Murder in Elizabethan England (2001)
• Vlad the Impaler: in Search of the Real Dracula (2003)
• Boudicca (2004)
• Cnut: Emperor of the North (2005)
• Spartacus: the Myth and the Man (2006)
• The Pocket Hercules (2006)
• El Cid: the Making of a Legend (2007)
• War Crimes: Underworld Britain in the Second World War (2008)