John Stewart, born in Northern Ireland, moved to London in the 1950s. He is the author of two biographies and three historical novels: The Centurion, translated into German, Italian and Spanish; The Last Romans, placed in the time of Justinian and Boethius; and Marsilio, centred on the early life of the Florentine philosopher-priest, Marsilio Ficino. In this and two companion novels, Visitors and The President, he turns his attention to the present time and explores the contemporary relevance of a reform advocated at the beginning of the 20th century by leading politicians and writers like Bernard Shaw and Leo Tolstoy.