Among Michael Littlewood's family 'secrets' was his Māori great-great-great-grandmother, Tiraha, the whāngai daughter of Ngāpuhi's Tamati Waka Nene.

William & Tiraha is Michael's first foray into a fictional voice, after a lifetime of academic and professional writing. It comes with a foundation of thorough and meticulous research over several years, consulting with his wider family and travelling to many of the sites described.

After a relatively brief career in law, Michael became an employee benefits consultant in London and New Zealand. In 2006 he helped establish the Retirement Policy and Research Centre at the University of Auckland. He was its co-director for nine years.

Michael has written extensively on public policy issues associated with savings and pensions and is the author of How to Create a Competitive Market in Pensions- The international lessons (Institute of Economic Affairs, London, 1998). He is the principal editor of www.PensionReforms.com