James Runcie

The Hon. James Robert Runcie (born 1959 in Cambridge) is a British novelist, documentary film-maker, television producer and theatre director. He is also Visiting Professor at Bath Spa University.

Early life

Runcie is the son of Robert Runcie, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, and Rosalind Runcie. He was educated at the Dragon School in Oxford,Marlborough College, and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He gained a first-class degree in English from Cambridge University in 1981.

Writing

Runcie has written the novels Canvey Island (2006), The Discovery of Chocolate (2001), The Colour of Heaven (2003), and East Fortune (2009).

2012 saw the publication of Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death, to a favourable critical reception. The book, which consists of six short stand-alone mysteries, is the first in a series of six works of detective fiction, entitled The Grantchester Mysteries. The second, Sidney Chambers and the Perils of the Night, was published in 2013. Runcie is published by Bloomsbury.