Born in the north of England shortly before World War I, Cyril Northcote Parkinson pursued a distinguished academic career on both sides of the Atlantic, and first became known for "Parkinson's Law," which states that work expands to fill the time allotted to it. Parkinson wrote many books concentrated on British politics and economics. His first fictional effort, a "biography" of Horatio Hornblower, met with considerable acclaim and led directly to Parkinson's Delancey series. "Most fictional heroes of the Napoleonic Wars at sea are as wooden as their ships," quipped London's Observer, "a generalization from which Patrick O'Brian's Jack Aubrey and Professor Parkinson's Richard Delancey can be excepted.