# Anthony Horowitz
**Anthony Horowitz** is an English novelist and screenwriter who specializes in mystery and suspense, known as the creator of the teen spy series [Alex Rider](https://www.edgepedia.org/alex-rider) and of the television dramas [Foyle's War](https://www.edgepedia.org/foyles-war) and [Midsomer Murders](https://www.edgepedia.org/midsomer-murders), and as the author of officially sanctioned continuation novels featuring Sherlock Holmes and James Bond. He has written more than 50 books for adults and children and was awarded a CBE in January 2022 for his services to literature.[1](https://anthonyhorowitz.com/about/contact) • [2](https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/454827/a-deadly-episode-by-horowitz-anthony/9781804957660)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | North London, 1955[3](https://midsomermurders.org/anthonyhorowitz.htm) |
| First book | *Enter Frederick K. Bower*, published when he was 23[3](https://midsomermurders.org/anthonyhorowitz.htm) |
| Signature series | Alex Rider, begun in 2000; estimated 21 million copies sold worldwide and adapted into a television series by Amazon Freevee[4](https://durhamcountylibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Book-Club-Discussion-Guide__Magpie-Murders.pdf) • [1](https://anthonyhorowitz.com/about/contact) |
| Estate commissions | The only writer authorized by both the Arthur Conan Doyle and Ian Fleming estates for original Sherlock Holmes and James Bond novels[5](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/13533/anthony-horowitz/) |
| Television | Creator and writer of Foyle's War and Murder in Mind; produced the first seven episodes and the title of Midsomer Murders[1](https://anthonyhorowitz.com/about/contact) • [3](https://midsomermurders.org/anthonyhorowitz.htm) |
| Honors | CBE (2022) for services to literature; Foyle's War won the Lew Grade Audience award for BAFTA[2](https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/454827/a-deadly-episode-by-horowitz-anthony/9781804957660) • [1](https://anthonyhorowitz.com/about/contact) |
## Early life and education
Horowitz was born in [North London](https://www.edgepedia.org/north-london) in 1955 and decided on a writing career as a child, asking for a typewriter for his eighth birthday.[3](https://midsomermurders.org/anthonyhorowitz.htm) • [6](https://images.scholastic.co.uk/assets/a/7c/07/horowitz-mip-23938.pdf) In his own account, he loved telling stories from about the age of ten. He attended a boarding school in north London from ages eight to thirteen, which he describes as unpleasant, and then [Rugby School](https://www.edgepedia.org/rugby-school), where three teachers introduced him to literature, drama and poetry and let him write for the school newspaper and magazine.[7](https://www.anthonyhorowitz.com/faq/) He graduated from the [University of York](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-york) in 1977 with a lower second class degree in English literature and art history.[4](https://durhamcountylibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Book-Club-Discussion-Guide__Magpie-Murders.pdf)
His first book, *Enter Frederick K. Bower*, was published when he was 23.[3](https://midsomermurders.org/anthonyhorowitz.htm) He wrote numerous standalone novels in the 1990s, including children's horror collections, and [Bloomsbury](https://www.edgepedia.org/bloomsbury) lists theater as his first love; his first play was *Mindgame*.[4](https://durhamcountylibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Book-Club-Discussion-Guide__Magpie-Murders.pdf) • [8](https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/author/anthony-horowitz/)
## Television career
Horowitz's television writing began with adaptations of [Hercule Poirot](https://www.edgepedia.org/hercule-poirot) stories for ITV's *Agatha Christie's Poirot* in the 1990s, and he wrote for *Robin of Sherwood*, *Boon*, *Menace* and *Murder Most Horrid*.[4](https://durhamcountylibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Book-Club-Discussion-Guide__Magpie-Murders.pdf) • [3](https://midsomermurders.org/anthonyhorowitz.htm) Starting in 1997, he wrote the majority of the episodes in the early series of *Midsomer Murders*, including the pilot "The Killings at Badger's Drift", adapted from the Caroline Graham novel, and produced the first seven episodes and the show's title.[4](https://durhamcountylibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Book-Club-Discussion-Guide__Magpie-Murders.pdf) • [3](https://midsomermurders.org/anthonyhorowitz.htm) • [1](https://anthonyhorowitz.com/about/contact)
His own detective series followed. He created *Murder in Mind* and, in 2002, *Foyle's War*, set during the Second World War; the successful launch is credited with restoring his reputation as one of Britain's foremost writers of popular drama.[3](https://midsomermurders.org/anthonyhorowitz.htm) • [4](https://durhamcountylibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Book-Club-Discussion-Guide__Magpie-Murders.pdf) Foyle's War returned in 2013 as a Cold War thriller and ended in January 2015, and DCS Foyle was voted the nation's favorite detective in 2011.[1](https://anthonyhorowitz.com/about/contact) His later original dramas were the five-part thriller *Collision* (ITV1, November 2009, seven million viewers a night), the legal thriller *Injustice* (June 2011) and *New Blood* (BBC, 2016).[1](https://anthonyhorowitz.com/about/contact)
## Alex Rider
In 2000 Horowitz began the Alex Rider novels, about a 14-year-old boy recruited as a spy by MI6.[4](https://durhamcountylibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Book-Club-Discussion-Guide__Magpie-Murders.pdf) The series became his best-known children's work: his website estimates 21 million copies sold worldwide, and it has spawned a feature film, *Stormbreaker*, a television series made by [Amazon Freevee](https://www.edgepedia.org/amazon-freevee), and a line of graphic novels.[1](https://anthonyhorowitz.com/about/contact) • [5](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/13533/anthony-horowitz/) His other children's series include The Power of Five and The Diamond Brothers.[1](https://anthonyhorowitz.com/about/contact) • [9](https://repository.tcu.edu/bitstreams/f8e12a68-d94f-4e65-b88f-c29eabbbc213/download)
## Sherlock Holmes and James Bond
**Estate commissions.** *The House of Silk* (2011) was the first new [Sherlock Holmes](https://www.edgepedia.org/sherlock-holmes) adventure to be officially approved by the Conan Doyle Estate, and its sequel *Moriarty* followed in 2014.[10](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/oct/27/house-silk-anthony-horowitz-sherlock-holmes) • [11](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/books/features/after-penning-sherlock-holmes-novel-moriarty-anthony-horowitz-is-set-to-tackle-james-bond-9799095.html) [Penguin Random House](https://www.edgepedia.org/penguin-random-house) describes him as the only writer authorized by both the [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://www.edgepedia.org/arthur-conan-doyle) and Ian Fleming estates to write original novels with those characters.[5](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/13533/anthony-horowitz/) For Bond, he followed Kingsley Amis and William Boyd in being chosen by the Ian Fleming Estate, publishing *Trigger Mortis* (2015), *Forever and a Day* (2018) and *With a Mind to Kill* (May 2022).[11](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/books/features/after-penning-sherlock-holmes-novel-moriarty-anthony-horowitz-is-set-to-tackle-james-bond-9799095.html) • [1](https://anthonyhorowitz.com/about/contact) When following another author, he works with their tools, a fountain pen for Conan Doyle and a typewriter for Ian Fleming.[11](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/books/features/after-penning-sherlock-holmes-novel-moriarty-anthony-horowitz-is-set-to-tackle-james-bond-9799095.html)
## Magpie Murders and the Hawthorne novels
Horowitz's award-winning adult novel *Magpie Murders* was published in October 2016. It is a mystery within a mystery, narrated by editor Susan Ryeland as she reads a manuscript by the crime writer Alan Conway, whose novel features the 1950s detective Atticus Pünd; the idea had come to Horowitz about 15 years before he wrote it.[1](https://anthonyhorowitz.com/about/contact) • [12](https://rts.org.uk/article/britboxs-magpie-murders-story-within-story) TIME's review called it "catnip for classic mystery lovers", noting in-jokes including a plot resembling the 1997 *Midsomer Murders* pilot.[13](https://time.com/4819586/magpie-murders-anthony-horowitz-review/) The sequel *Moonflower Murders* and a third book, *Marble Hall Murders*, completed the Susan Ryeland series; producer Jill Green, his wife, asked him for the second book as a backup when television production began.[14](https://pbsorg.edcar.pbs.org/video/anthony-horowitz-on-the-susan-ryeland-trilogys-end-nyhewz/) • [15](https://pbsorg.edcar.pbs.org/video/continuing-the-story-t6xqpy/) The trilogy was adapted for television with [Lesley Manville](https://www.edgepedia.org/lesley-manville) and Tim McMullan, first on BritBox/PBS and, for *Marble Hall Murders*, as a six-part series on [BBC One](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-one) and [BBC iPlayer](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-iplayer) in September 2026 and on PBS MASTERPIECE.[16](https://www.anthonyhorowitz.com/news/story/marble-hall-murders-will-be-on-bbc-dates-and-times) • [17](https://www.pbs.org/show/marble-hall-murders/) Horowitz has said one more Susan Ryeland book, provisionally "Merlin Murders", is in his head, to be written in a few years.[14](https://pbsorg.edcar.pbs.org/video/anthony-horowitz-on-the-susan-ryeland-trilogys-end-nyhewz/)
A parallel adult series pairs a fictional detective, Daniel Hawthorne, with Horowitz himself as narrator and sidekick: *The Word is Murder*, *The Sentence is Death*, *A Line to Kill*, *The Twist of a Knife* and *Close to Death*, followed by the sixth book, *A Deadly Episode*, published in April 2026.[2](https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/454827/a-deadly-episode-by-horowitz-anthony/9781804957660) *The Word Is Murder* is being made into a major feature film.[2](https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/454827/a-deadly-episode-by-horowitz-anthony/9781804957660)
## Personal life
Horowitz is married to the television producer Jill Green, founder of Eleventh Hour Films, and they have two sons.[3](https://midsomermurders.org/anthonyhorowitz.htm) • [11](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/books/features/after-penning-sherlock-holmes-novel-moriarty-anthony-horowitz-is-set-to-tackle-james-bond-9799095.html) He has said his wife reads everything he writes first and is his most important critic.[18](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/anthony-horowitz-interview-poirot-tintin-b2150657.html) Since 2019 he has been a patron of Home-Start in Suffolk, a family support charity.[1](https://anthonyhorowitz.com/about/contact)
## References
1. [About Anthony Horowitz, anthonyhorowitz.com](https://anthonyhorowitz.com/about/contact)
2. [A Deadly Episode, Penguin](https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/454827/a-deadly-episode-by-horowitz-anthony/9781804957660)
3. [Midsomer Murders Writers: Anthony Horowitz](https://midsomermurders.org/anthonyhorowitz.htm)
4. [Magpie Murders Book Club Discussion Guide, Durham County Library](https://durhamcountylibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Book-Club-Discussion-Guide__Magpie-Murders.pdf)
5. [Anthony Horowitz, Penguin Random House](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/13533/anthony-horowitz/)
6. [Author Profile, Scholastic](https://images.scholastic.co.uk/assets/a/7c/07/horowitz-mip-23938.pdf)
7. [FAQ, anthonyhorowitz.com](https://www.anthonyhorowitz.com/faq/)
8. [Anthony Horowitz, Bloomsbury Publishing](https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/author/anthony-horowitz/)
9. [Thesis on The House of Silk, TCU Repository](https://repository.tcu.edu/bitstreams/f8e12a68-d94f-4e65-b88f-c29eabbbc213/download)
10. [The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz, review, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/oct/27/house-silk-anthony-horowitz-sherlock-holmes)
11. [After penning Moriarty, Anthony Horowitz is set to tackle James Bond, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/books/features/after-penning-sherlock-holmes-novel-moriarty-anthony-horowitz-is-set-to-tackle-james-bond-9799095.html)
12. [BritBox's Magpie Murders: A story within a story, Royal Television Society](https://rts.org.uk/article/britboxs-magpie-murders-story-within-story)
13. [Review: Anthony Horowitz's Magpie Murders, TIME](https://time.com/4819586/magpie-murders-anthony-horowitz-review/)
14. [Anthony Horowitz on the Susan Ryeland Trilogy's End, PBS](https://pbsorg.edcar.pbs.org/video/anthony-horowitz-on-the-susan-ryeland-trilogys-end-nyhewz/)
15. [Marble Hall Murders: Continuing the Story, PBS](https://pbsorg.edcar.pbs.org/video/continuing-the-story-t6xqpy/)
16. [Marble Hall Murders on BBC this September, anthonyhorowitz.com](https://www.anthonyhorowitz.com/news/story/marble-hall-murders-will-be-on-bbc-dates-and-times)
17. [Marble Hall Murders, PBS](https://www.pbs.org/show/marble-hall-murders/)
18. [Anthony Horowitz: 'These days, writers do have to self-censor', The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/anthony-horowitz-interview-poirot-tintin-b2150657.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Literature and written works › Writers and literary biographies › Children's, comics, and media-genre writers › Children's and YA authors › Young adult authors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license