I was born in New York City and lived there for 65 years; now I live in an old folks community in Kennett Square, PA – “mushroom capital of the world.” I am content; but spiritually, I will die a New Yorker.
I practised law in New York for five years, 1954-59, quitting in order to write full time. I had hoped to support myself in the law while writing in the evenings, but my mind proved too small for two things at once. So I chose writing.
Beginning in 1960 my history is in my books published, sixteen written, fourteen published. I write on a variety of subjects, which experts in marketing tell me is poor “packaging.” But I think the variety gives a breadth and depth to my understanding of life and to the writing. Also, I write only on what interests me, which gives the books a strong dose of enthusiasm. Six are on operatic subjects, including a biography of the composer Verdi (trans. into Spanish and Chinese); the others are biographies of unusual people, outside the mould. Several are about lawyers and the law, and one is a massive history about Garibaldi and the nineteenth century Italian movement for unity and independence known as the Risorgimento.
You can find out more about me and my books at my website: www.georgewmartin.com