John Noone's reputation rests primarily on a powerful first novel dealing with terrorist activities in London during the early 1960s. A second, more experimental novel was less successful artistically and less well received. Although both novels won awards in England, Noone's work has gained little critical notice aside from the usual book reviews, which ranged from enthusiastic to puzzled.

Noone was born in 1936 in Darlington, England, and was educated locally. In 1954 he entered the Durham Light Infantry. After leaving the military in 1956 he entered King's College, University of Durham, where he studied English literature. He has since taught English at various universities around the world, including Alexandria University in Egypt (1961-1965), Libya University in Benghazi (1965-1966), and Kyoto University in Japan (1968-1974). He now lives in Brussels.

The plot of The Man with the Chocolate Egg (1966), which won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize for fiction, is relatively simple...