WRITER Jake Arnott gives a sneak preview of his latest novel at a special event at the Bluecoat this week.
Arnott invented "geezer chic" with his 1999 novel, The Long Firm, which tells the story of gay East End villain Harry Starks – loosely based on the life of Ronnie Kray.
The BBC serialised the book starring Derek Jacobi and Phil Daniels. His second novel, He Kills Coppers, was shown on ITV this year.
It charted Britain through the life of a criminal on the run from 1966 to the Thatcher years and was based on the real-life story of cop killer Harry Roberts.
His fifth novel is due out in January, but he will be giving a sneak preview on Wednesday.
It’s called The Devil's Paintbrush and is based on the life of Major-General Sir Hector Macdonald, a hero of the British Empire who committed suicide when accused of sodomy with Sri Lankan boys.
Before writing, Arnott had worked in a variety of different jobs – as a mortuary technician, a theatrical agent, an artist's life model, an actor and a sign-language interpreter. His last acting job was as the Mummy in Universal Pictures blockbuster The Mummy.
Arnott appears at the Bluecoat on November 12 at 8pm. The event is part of the Homotopia festival.
