Patrick Gale (born 1962, Isle of Wight) is a British novelist who lives in Cornwall.
His father was the prison governor of Camp Hill Prison on the Isle of Wight when Gale was born, and he was brought up in and around prisons. In his 2000 novel Rough Music, the lead character is the son of a prison governor.
Gale was educated at The Pilgrims' School, the choir college for both Winchester Cathedral and Winchester College, then at Winchester College and at New College, Oxford. Following university he had a range of jobs while he sang for the London Philharmonic Choir and wrote his first novel, The Aerodynamics of Pork while working as a waiter in an all-night restaurant. He now lives on his partner's farm near Land's End. [1]
He has also written a number of short stories and novellas in addition to a non-fiction book about the American novelist Armistead Maupin, with whom he has a close friendship, He is also a book reviewer for The Daily Telegraph.