Yesterday, the British writer James Herbert (photo ©Jamiespilsbury) passed away.

James Herbert was born on April 8, 1943 in London, England. After leaving school at 15, he studied at Hornsey College of Art and for years had various jobs in the advertising and publishing fields. In 1967, he married Eileen and together they had three daughters: Kerry, Emma and Casey.

In 1974, James Herbert published his first novel, “The Rats”, in which a horde of mutant rats invade London. The novel was a great success but was criticized for the graphic descriptions of death and mutilation but also for the social considerations concerning the London suburbs, which in the novel are neglected.

In 1975, James Herbert published “The Fog”, in which a fog composed of toxic chemicals causes insanity and uncontrollable violent impulses in the people who come in contact with it.

In later years, James Herbert published three sequels of “The Rats”: “Lair” in 1979, “Domain” in 1984 and the comic book “The City” in 1994, which explore in different ways the same theme.

Like other British writers, James Herbert took advantage of catastrophic themes and despite the horror elements of his early novels they can be considered science fiction for their scientific basis. Over time, however, he devoted himself more and more to explore themes more typically supernatural. Thus he published “The Survivor” in 1976, “Fluke” in 1977, “The Spear” in 1978 then he went on with other purely horror stories.

Some of his novels have been adapted into movies: “The Survivor” in 1981, “Deadly Eyes” in 1982, “Fluke” in 1995 and “Haunted” in 1995.

James Herbert has written a total of 23 novels, published in 34 languages ​​with sales of over 54 million copies worldwide. His latest novel, “Ash”, was published last year, so these numbers will still grow.

In 2010, James Herbert was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and in the same year he was made Grand Master of Horror by the World Horror Convention.

The first novels of James Herbert are already classics. He’s been an author who used in his own way the classic elements of British literary tradition to describe daily horrors that at any time can destroy a fragile balance.