Laurence Kelly was born in Brussels in 1933 and educated at Oxford where he obtained an Honours Degree in History. His interest in Russia began in 1950 when he first visited Moscow while his father served there as British Ambassador.

Works by Laurence Kelly include:
Lermontov: Tragedy in the Caucasus
Diplomacy and Murder in Tehran: Alexander Griboyedov and Imperial Russia’s Mission to the Shah of Persia