Patrick McGrath was born in London and grew up near Broadmoor Hospital, where for many years his father was a Medical Superintendent. He has lived in various parts of North America and spent several years on a remote island in the north Pacific. He moved to New York City in 1981. He is the author of The Grotesque Spider, Dr. Haggard's Disease, Asylum, and Martha Peake.

He lives in New York and London and is married to actress Maria Aitken.