James Herbert - This is your Life - Novelist - The Rats

Here's the late English Cockney novelist best known for his terrifying novel "The Rats" James Herbert getting the "This is your Life" Treatment from Michael Aspel circa 1995.

James John Herbert, OBE (8 April 1943 – 20 March 2013)[1] was a best-selling English horror writer who originally worked as the art director of an advertising agency. A full-time writer, he also designed his own book covers and publicity. His books have sold 54 million copies worldwide, and have been translated into 34 languages, including Chinese and Russian.

Born in London,[3] Herbert was the son of Herbert Herbert,[4] a stall-holder at London's Brick Lane Market. He attended a Catholic school in Bethnal Green called Our Lady of the Assumption, then aged 11 won a scholarship to St Aloysius Grammar School in Highgate. He left school at 15 and studied at Hornsey College of Art, joining the art department of John Collings, a small advertising agency.[5] He left the agency to join Charles Barker Advertising where he worked as art director and then group head.[4]

Herbert lived in Woodmancote, near Henfield in West Sussex,.[6] He had two brothers: Peter, a retired market trader and John, an insurance broker.[7] Herbert would write his drafts in longhand on "jumbo pads".[4] In 1979 Herbert had to pay damages when it was ruled that he had based part of his novel “The Spear” on the work of another writer (The Spear of Destiny),[8] Trevor Ravens­croft.[9] In 2010 Herbert was honoured with the World Horror Convention Grand Master Award, presented to him by Stephen King.[2] Later the same year he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours, presented by Prince Charles.[10][11]

On 20 March 2013, Herbert died at his home in Sussex at the age of 69.[9] He is survived by his wife, Eileen, and three daughters.[12][13] His biographer Craig Cabell updated his biography about the author and released a revised paperback in May 2013, publishing one of the last letters Herbert ever wrote.