Dornford Yates, pseudonym of Cecil William Mercer Biography

British writer, born in London, educated at Harrow and Oxford. Before becoming a writer he was a barrister, as is his most popular character, Berry Pleydell, who appeared with his circle in a series of novels including The Brother of Daphne (1914), Berry and Co. (1920), and The House that Berry Built (1945). Yates's ‘Chandos’ thrillers (Blind Corner, 1927, etc.) were also popular. The Berry books portray an England and Europe of empty roads, leisured aristocracy, and obedient and respectful servant classes. The style is whimsical, a mixture of lyricism and excruciating puns. Though his novels reflect many twentieth-century historical crises, Yates rarely illuminates them; and his patrician tone and some disturbing prejudices probably account for his declining audience.