Carel van der Merwe is a South African author, historian and businessman who writes in Afrikaans and English.

[1] His father, Carel van der Merwe (1936-2016), was managing director of the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Ltd.[2] During his youth Van der Merwe attended various schools in South Africa and Germany, and matriculated in 1981 at Linden High School in Johannesburg.

He qualified as a chartered accountant, and worked for the international auditing firm Arthur Andersen & Co in Johannesburg and London until 1991.

In 2000 Van der Merwe relocated to London to serve as an executive director (mergers and acquisitions) of Comparex Limited, an international IT company.

[4] Whilst living in London he completed his part-time MA in Writing at Middlesex University, graduating with distinction in 2005.

[10] Van der Merwe also wrote his next novel in English and Afrikaans, and Shark and Geldwolf were published in 2009.