The Chrysanthemum Throne: A History of the Emperors of Japan

Peter Martin was born in London, England on January 5, 1931. Before becoming a cultural diplomat, he read philosophy at Birkbeck College and served in the Royal Air Force. He worked for the Royal Festival Hall and then with the British Council. While working in Kyoto, Japan, he and his second wife, Joan Drumwright, wrote Japanese Cooking. He also wrote The Chrysanthemum Throne: A History of the Emperors of Japan. Under the pseudonym James Melville, he wrote the Superintendent Otani Mystery series, The Imperial Way, and A Tarnished Phoenix. Under the pseudonym Hampton Charles, he wrote three novels about Miss Seeton. He died in 2014 at the age of 83.