Calvin Shields was born in 1949 in the delightfully named village of North Piddle, Worcestershire, UK. The son of a Royal Air Force officer, his childhood unfolded in the far-flung corners of what remained of the crumbling British Empire. In the 1960s, international air travel was still the preserve of the wealthy, the famous, or royalty — so as a boy, Calvin was unusually fortunate to see parts of the world that most could only dream about. From an early age, he developed a fascination with travel and the far-flung corners of the world, an interest that would shape the course of his life.

In 1969, he joined BOAC as a cadet pilot at the dawn of the jet age. Over the following decades, he flew the most iconic aircraft in history, eventually becoming a British Airways Captain on the Boeing 747. His aviation career continued with Singapore Airlines and culminated at TNT Airlines, based in Liège, Belgium. He considers himself lucky to have flown during the golden era of aviation, when air travel still carried a touch of glamour, and “politically correct” referred simply to Labour or Conservative.

Beyond the cockpit, Calvin has always sought adventure. At 66, he crossed Greenland on skis — a five-week, unsupported expedition over ice and crevasses. Two years later, he suffered a stroke while attempting to ski across Corsica. During his recovery, he began writing, capturing the colour and chaos of a life fully lived.

 What Remains, is a historical thriller rooted in the hills of southern France. His next novel,

 Fault Line, draws on family letters from colonial India and postwar Europe — merging personal memory with the dying breaths  of empire