Cecil Edric Mornington Roberts was born in Nottingham on 18 May 1892 and was educated at MundellaGrammar School. After leaving school at the age of 15 he was employed by the Corporation ofNottingham in the weights and measures office. He spent his spare time reading and writing and wonthe Henry Kirke White poetry prize awarded by University College Nottingham in 1912 with 'TheTrent'. By that year his poetry had also been published in The Contemporary Review and ThePoetry Review. His first collection of poems, Phyllistrata and Other Poems was publishedin 1913 by James Clarke.
In 1914, his career as a critic began when he was offered a job with The Liverpool Post.This was followed by posts with The Nottingham JournalThe Sphereand The DailyTelegraph. Roberts spent much of his later life living in Italy. It was there that he met andbecame friends with the British ambassador in Rome and his wife, Sir Henry Ashley and Lady Clarke.Roberts died in 1976.
Roberts' works included the novels, Scissors (1923), Little Miss Manington (1926),Victoria Four-Thirty (1937), A Terrace in the Sun (1951), and Pilgrim Cottage(1933). Travel books and biographies included Gone Rustic (1934), And so to Bath(1930), And so to America (1946), and And so to Rome (1950).