Winston Graham (Winston Mawdsley Graham) Biography

British novelist and writer of film scripts, born in Manchester; he left school at 16. He made his name as a writer of thrillers with subtle character observation and psychological undertones. Marnie (1961) was filmed by Alfred Hitchcock; films have also been made of Take My Life (1947), Night without Stars (1950), Fortune Is a Woman (1953), The Sleeping Partner (1956), and The Walking Stick (1967). He is best known for his historical novels set in eighteenth-century Cornwall and concerning the Poldark and Warleggan families, beginning with Ross Poldark (1945), and including The Black Moon (1973). There were two BBC television series during the 1970s based on the first seven books. He has also written non-fiction, including The Spanish Armada (1972) and Poldark's Cornwall (1983).