William Boyd was born in 1952 in Accra, Ghana, and grew up there and in Nigeria. His first novel, A Good Man in Africa , won the Whitbread First Novel Award and the Somerset Maugham Prize. His other novels include An Ice Cream War , Armadillo , Any Human Heart , Restless and Sweet Caress. His latest book is the short-story collection The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth. He is married and divides his time between London and south west France.