JOYCE CARY (1888-1957) was born in Northern Ireland and grew up in
London. He studied art in Edinburgh and in Paris before studying law at Oxford
University. He joined the Nigerian political service in 1913, fighting in the Nigeria Regiment during the First World War, before returning to live in Oxford in 1920. A poet, essayist, and short story writer, Cary is best known for his novels Mister Johnson and The Horse's Mouth.

INTRODUCER BIOGRAPHY
CHRISTOPHER REID is the former poetry editor at Faber & Faber and the author of many books of poems, including A Scattering (winner of the Costa Book of the Year Award) and The Song of Lunch (which was the basis of a film starring Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson).