Ian Kelly

Ian Kelly has worked as an actor and writer in France, Russia, South America and the United States. He currently lives in London with his wife, psychology teacher Claire Davies, and their son Oscar.

Ian Kelly's first book Cooking for Kings: A Life of Antonin Careme the First Celebrity Chef, was published by Short Books in the UK and Walkers Books in the US. He wrote and presented Regency Banquet, the Channel 4 documentary based on the book, and the publication in New York coincided with the Off-Broadway premiere of his play based on Careme's life.

Ian Kelly's Beau Brummell, a biography of the celebrated Regency dandy and wit, was published by Hodder & Stoughton in the UK and Simon & Schuster in the US. It was described by Stephen Fry as 'a magnificent, fantastic read: all the wonders of that incomparable age touched on with mastery; all I hoped it would be and more.'

His next book, a biography of Casanova, was published by Hodder & Stoughton in the UK and Penguin in the US, and named The Sunday Times biography of the year.

His two latest projects have been acquired by Picador. The first is a biography of Shakespeare as an actor, and the second is a biography of Samuel Foote, an 18th century playwright, wit and roguish man about town.