author
Dornford Yates
1885–1960
Best known for witty upper-class comedy and fast-moving adventure, this English novelist was one of the popular storytellers of the interwar years. Writing as Dornford Yates, he built a loyal readership with the cheerful Berry books and the more dangerous Richard Chandos thrillers.
6 Audiobooks
As Other Men Are
by Dornford Yates
Jonah and Co.
by Dornford Yates
The Brother of Daphne
by Dornford Yates
Anthony Lyveden
by Dornford Yates
And Five Were Foolish
by Dornford Yates
Berry and Co.
by Dornford Yates
About the author
Born Cecil William Mercer in Kent in 1885, he trained in law and was called to the bar before turning fully to fiction. He began publishing in the early 1910s under the pen name Dornford Yates, a name formed from family surnames, and became widely read between the First and Second World Wars.
His books generally fall into two well-loved strands: sparkling social comedy, especially the Berry series, and adventure-thrillers featuring Richard Chandos and Jonathan Mansel. Readers were drawn to the polish of his dialogue, the ease of his storytelling, and the blend of comfort, danger, and high spirits that runs through much of his work.
Later in life he lived for periods in France and then in southern Africa, and he died in 1960. Although fashions changed after his peak, his novels have continued to attract readers who enjoy classic British escapism, sharp banter, and old-style suspense.