Rudolph Nassauer was born in Frankfurt-am-Main in 1924. In 1939, he came to England with his family and was educated at St Paul's School. In 1947, Methuen published a volume of his poetry. The Hooligan was followed by the novels: The Cuckoo (1961); The Examination (1973); The Unveiling (1975); Agents of Love (1976); Reparations (1981); and Kramer's Goats (1986). He deid in 1996