Peter Richards has a home in Normandy, France. He is a dedicated historian who after a visit to Hambye Abbey, close to his home, was inspired to investigate the possibility of studying medieval history at university as a mature student. The available syllabuses did not match his requirements and so he decided to create his own; one that focussed on medieval history in the region. After a great deal of research and library time, he discovered that despite being an interesting subject to study, not everything was ‘going in and staying in’ and so he decided to write a historical novel or rather a series of them. The more he researched, the more he discovered that Normandy was a treasure trove of historical fact and a perfect setting for his series of historical fiction, ‘The Leopards of Normandie’. The series focusses on the turbulent years of medieval history in Normandy seen through the collective eyes of many generations of a local family. Starting with the colonisation of the region by Viking settlers and including the invasion of England in 1066  through the following centuries.

The author is also a keen cyclist and the region provides memorable cycle routes along which he takes groups of touring riders to and from the objects of his research.