A new biography of the Northern Irish novelist Ian Cochrane has been published by Turnpike Books. The book, Reckless Laughter by Philip Taylor, examines the life and work of a writer who emerged from a rural Protestant background in County Antrim and who, according to his friend and fellow novelist Maurice Leitch, produced a series of six unusual, darkly comic novels that received critical acclaim.

Cochrane was born in Cullybackey, County Antrim, and grew up in the Ard-na-Maine housing estate in the village. He left school early, began menial work at 14, and moved to London at 18. He died in London in 2004 at the age of 62. His debut novel, A Streak of Madness, was published in 1973 and was reviewed by Seamus Heaney, who praised its irreverent and bawdy qualities and the way its living speech of the Ulster countryside was combined with an inventive comic imagination.

Taylor's research drew on interviews with about 50 people, including Cochrane's brother Drew, his ex-wife Maggie Manicom, and friends in London. The biography also draws on unpublished works and correspondence made available by the Cochrane family, supported by an Irish Arts Council award. Interest in Cochrane has grown since 2016, when James Greer of Queen's University Belfast published an article on him, followed by a 2018 reissue of his novel F for Ferg.

In 2023 Taylor edited a volume of Cochrane's previously uncollected short stories. Patrick McCabe, who has said he borrowed Cochrane's voice for The Butcher Boy, described Cochrane as a one-off genius known for his reckless laughter and faith in human beings.

The biography is published by Turnpike Books.