Sir Gadabout: Volume 1

Martyn Beardsley lives just outside Nottingham. As well as writing children's books, he loves reading and writing about history, almost any period. He gets many of his ideas for stories when he's taking his mad dog for a walk early in the morning. Martyn has written over fifteen books: Five Naughty Kittens and The Dog that went Woof, the Sir Gadabout stories, a couple of ghost stories and some history books for children. For adults, he has written one historical biography, a book about England's last duel, and edited the diary of an eighteenth century surgeon-apothecary. Martyn Beardsley has lived in Nottingham all his life. A civil servant for many years, he is now concentrating on his writing career. As well as being a children's author, one of his great passions is history. In 2002 he published a biography of Sir John Franklin, the Arctic explorer. A committed Buddhist, he is interested in reading, sport, keep-fit and yoga. Martyn Beardsley is married with one daughter and a mad dog.

Tony Ross was born in London and studied at the Liverpool School of Art and Design. He has worked as a cartoonist, a graphic designer, as the Art Director of an advertising agency, and as Senior Lecturer in Art at Manchester Polytechnic. Tony is one of the most popular and successful children's illustrators of all time, best known for illustrating Horrid Henry and the works of David Walliams. Tony's books have been translated into 40 languages in over 100 countries. He lives in Macclesfield.

Clive Anderson was born in Middlesex in 1952. After studying law at Cambridge University, where he was also President of the Footlights revue group, he practised as a barrister in London for about fifteen years. During this time he wrote scripts for the likes of Frankie Howerd, Griff Rhys Jones and Mel Smith, and performed as a stand-up comedian. This led to presenting radio and television programmes, in particular Whose Line Is It Anyway? on BBC Radio 4 and then on Channel 4 TV. He has also hosted chat shows for radio and television. He lives in Highbury, north London, with his wife and three children.