In the first full-length account of Horner's life published November 2010, he emerges as one of the major figures in 19th Century educational and social reform. Author Patrick N. O'Farrell (Professor Emeritus, Heriot-Watt University) studied the family archives of Horner's great-great-great-grandson Lord Lyell, 3rd Baron of Kinnordy, as well as sources in the Geological Society of London, the National Archives and elsewhere to locate key first-hand accounts of Horner's life and achievements.