Iain George Pears is an acclaimed English art historian, novelist, and journalist. Born on August 8, 1955, in Coventry, England, Pears has carved a distinct niche in the literary and historical worlds.

His educational journey includes studies at Warwick School, Warwick, Wadham College, and Wolfson College, Oxford. Pears embarked on his career as a reporter for the BBC, Channel 4 (UK), and ZDF (Germany), and also served as a correspondent for Reuters from 1982 to 1990 in Italy, France, the UK, and the US. In 1987, he was honored as a Getty Fellow in the Arts and Humanities at Yale University.

He is best known for his novel series featuring Jonathan Argyll, an art historian. However, his international fame skyrocketed with the best-selling book An Instance of the Fingerpost (1998), which has been translated into several languages. Pears currently resides in Oxford with his wife and children.