Philip Kerr

Who is Philip Kerr?

Philip Kerr is a British author.

Born in Edinburgh, in a Baptist family, Kerr was educated at Melville Collegeand at a grammar school in Northampton. He studied at the University of Birmingham from 1974 to 1980, eventually gaining a master's degree in law and philosophy. Kerr worked as an advertising copywriter for Saatchi and Saatchi before becoming a full-time writer in 1989. A writer of both adult fiction and non-fiction, he is known for the Bernie Gunther series of historical thrillers set in Germany and elsewhere during the 1930s, the Second World War and the Cold War. He has also written children's books under the name P.B. Kerr, including the Children of the Lamp series.

Kerr has written for The Sunday Times, the Evening Standard and the New Statesman. He is married to fellow novelist Jane Thynne; the couple live in Wimbledon, London, and have three children.