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Born Cecil William Mercer into a middle-class family with many Victorian skeletons in the closet,
including the conviction for embezzlement from a law firm and subsequent suicide of his great-uncle,
Yates' parents scraped together enough money to educate him at Harrow. As a consequence his
books feature a taste for the genteel life and a number of swindling solicitors. A testament to fine
writing, in his heyday they were almost permanent bestsellers. 'Berry' is one of the great comic
creations of twentieth-century fiction, and 'Chandos' titles were successfully adapted more than once
for television. |
