His well-known novel series features Jonathan Argyll, art historian, though international fame first arrived with his best selling book An Instance of the Fingerpost (1998), which was translated into several languages.
In his afterword to An Instance of the Fingerpost, Iain Pears explains that much of the book's plot was inspired by the career of Willis, and his family's later, unsuccessful attempts to clear his name.
Iain Pears wrote a historical novel called The Dream of Scipio which refers to Cicero's work in various direct and indirect ways.
Iain Banks | Iain Matthews | Iain Ballamy | Iain Sinclair | Iain Glen | Iain Duncan Smith | Iain Burnside | Iain Stirling | Iain Rogerson | Iain Pears | Iain Macleod | Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard | Iain Evans | Peter Pears | Iain Douglas-Hamilton | Iain Cuthbertson | Iain Stables | Iain Sproat | Iain McIntyre | Iain Lee | Iain Jennings | Iain Hamilton Grant | Iain Archer | Asian pears, fruits of ''Pyrus pyrifolia | Pears Soap | Le Conte pear, from ''The Pears of New York'' (1921) by Ulysses Prentiss Hedrick | Iain Turner | Iain Tuckett | Iain Torrance | Iain Sutherland |
Other famous residents of St John Street have included the theologians Henry Chadwick and Arthur Peacocke; authors P.D. James, Iain Pears and J.R.R. Tolkien; musician Thom Yorke; sportsman Na Oofoka.