Bill Naughton was born in Ireland and raised in Bolton, eventually settling on the Isle of Man where, until his death in 1992, he lived with his wife Erna. Leaving school at fourteen, he became a weaver; later a coal-bagger and lorry driver. During the late 1950s he wrote a series of documentary dramas for the BBC. This was followed by various films and plays, including the immensely popular Spring and Port Wine , while his short stories and novels earned him the highest praise.

'Alfie remains the randiest and most shameless Casanova south of the river, always willing to oblige a lady and you can't say fairer than that, I mean, can you?' -- Sunday Times

"I ve got this dark little lump of cold grief or something over my heart. It could, of course, be wind." And thats Alfie really. Never one to take himself, or anything else for that matter, too seriously. He'll never say no to a woman and he'll even let them stay the night, as long as they cook breakfast of course and as long as they never, ever, ask when he'll be back. But these things are never that simple, even if Alfie likes to pretend they are. There's meek little Annie, who's almost got him "poncified"; Ruby, a bit old but in fabulous condition and then the less said about Lily the better. But Alfie doesn't do complicated. He loves, he leaves and when he occasionally wrestles with his conscience, he always wins. Well, almost always. . . With sales of over a million copies since its first publication in 1966, Alfie is a controversial modern classic. The inspiration for the cult film starring Michael Caine and the smash-hit remake with Jude Law as the eponymous anti-hero, Alfie feels as fresh and relevant today as when it was first published.