Ann Wroe is the obituaries editor of the Economist and has written its weekly obituary for almost two decades. She is the author of eight previous works of nonfiction, including biographies of Pontius Pilate (shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Award and the W.H. Smith Award), Perkin Warbeck, Shelley, Orpheus (winner of the Criticos Prize), and St Francis. She lives in Brighton and London.