John Lacey-Smith is an artist, writer, and curator. After retiring, he pursued studies in art, art history, video editing, and photography, earning a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from London Metropolitan University. His passion for 19th-century history was inspired by his grandmother, born in Glasgow in 1887, and her husband, John Lacey, a WWI veteran of the Highland Light Infantry.
Fascinated by the rapid evolution of humanity from the Industrial Revolution to the space age Lacey-Smith believes history holds vital lessons for understanding our identity. Lady Mary Stewart: Scotland's Secret Princess is his debut novel, reflecting on transformative historical eras such as the English Civil War, the French Revolution, and the rise of the American economy.
His lifelong interest in the Lacey family name, derived from De Lacy, Lacy, and Lacey, and his ancestral ties to landownership, inspired his pen name: Laird DeLacy.
