Born in London, Alasdair Forbes graduated with an honours history degree from McGill University, in Montreal, before completing an MA in the history of art at the Courtauld Institute. He has worked in Paris and Vancouver, and lived for short periods in India and Italy. Before moving to Devon, he lived and taught in London. For the last thirty years he has been preoccupied with creating and looking after his garden. He is currently preparing a series of lectures on the meaning of place to be given at Exeter University.