Dennis Yates Wheatley was born in London, the son of a wine merchant. In 1926 his father died, leaving him as the sole owner of the family wine business. In the early thirties he had to sell the business and became nearly bankrupt. His first published novel The Forbidden Territory was an immediate success. It was translated in many languages and the film rights were bought by Alfred Hitchcock. His prolific output of stylish thrillers and occult novels made him one of the world's best-selling authors in the 1950s and 1960s.