Brendan Murphy

Brendan is the author of The Game That Would Be King: The Uncharted History of Soccer 800–1800 AD and From Sheffield With Love, a history of the world’s oldest football club. He has published two young adult fantasy books, Beyond the Gloaming and The Traitor’s Trap. Two more, The Dandelion Graveyard and A Flock of Secrets are ready for publication. He has also written a picture book, La Petite Lune, a regency screenplay, Hellgate, and a thriller, The Prime of her Death. Brendan is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Monash University and has written widely on youth mental health. He was raised in Sheffield, studied in London, and calls Melbourne home. He has two amazing children, Sebastian and Violette, who are his world. When he is not lost in museums and art galleries, he is hiking, boxing, or travelling.

Behind “The Game That Would Be King” With Author Brendan Murphy

July 9, 2026July 9, 2026

The Game That Would Be King: The Uncharted History of Soccer 800 – 1800 AD runs to 520 pages, contains 3,000 references, took three years to write, and hijacked my passion project, The Prime of her Death, a Melbourne thriller fusing purgatory and prime numbers. Prior to that, I had written four young adult fantasy novels, … Read more