Rodney Hall was born in Solihull, Warwickshire, in England. He came to Australia as a child and, as a result of the enchantment of embarking on that six-week voyage by sea, he suffers from a lifelong addiction to travel. After leaving school in Brisbane at 16 he worked professionally as a musician and for a while as an actor, but since 1961 he has lived by his writing, being the author of over thirty books and countless articles. He has won the Miles Franklin Award twice and many of his novels and poems have been published internationally. He lives in Melbourne.