James McNeish was born in Auckland, New Zealand on October 23, 1931. He attended Auckland University College. He is the author of nine novels, 14 nonfiction works, four plays, and a large number of articles and essays. His books include Lovelock, Dance of the Peacocks, The Mask of Sanity, and Breaking Ranks. In 2010, he received the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in Non-fiction and in 2011, he was appointed as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature. He died on November 14, 2016 at the age of 85.
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