Dennis Wheatley

Dennis Wheatley was born on January 8, 1897 in South London, England as Dennis Yates Wheatley.

It is a mistake to say that he turned against dictatorship of any kind in his later years. As his second volume of autobiography (completed and published in the final year of his long life) makes alarmingly clear, he retained an admiration for Mussolini until the end, regretting that "egotism" had caused him to side with Hitler instead of with the Allies in World War II (this is a nonsensical reading of the situation) and expressing keen admiration for the 40-year military dictatorship of General Franco in Spain. He also supported the apartheid regime in South Africa, which was ongoing at the time of his death, and admired the Peron dictatorship in Argentina, even though escaped Nazi war criminals readily found a home there. He had been a member of the British Union of Fascists in the 1930s, and never expressed regret for this.

Wheatley's writing career began in 1933 and lasted until his death in 1977. He wrote swashbuckling historicals, novels of international intrigue, supernatural horror, and sexual sadism. His nonfiction included autobiographies and the occult.

He was a writer, known for Forbidden Territory (1934), The Secret of Stamboul (1936) and Mad Men of Europe (1940). He was married to Joan Younger.

Three of his novels - "Uncharted Seas" (1938), "The Devil Rides Out" (1934) and "To the Devil a Daughter" (1953) - were adapted by Hammer Film Productions: The Lost Continent (1968), The Devil Rides Out (1968) and To the Devil a Daughter (1976). Christopher Lee starred in the two latter films.

Dennis Wheatley was awarded the Bronze Star Medal by the United States of America. The citation read: For "meritorious service to the US army while serving as LCS representative on the Inter-Service Security Board from August 1943 to August 1944". The Bronze Star is the highest medal that can be awarded to a non-US citizen.