Arthur Koestler CBE was an author of essays, novels and autobiographies. Koestler was born in Budapest but, apart from his early school years, was educated in Austria. His early career was in journalism. In 1931 he joined the Communist Party of Germany but, disillusioned, he resigned from it in 1938 and in 1940 published a devastating anti-totalitarian novel, Darkness at Noon, which propelled him to international fame.

Over the next 43 years, Koestler espoused many political causes and wrote novels, biographies, and numerous essays. In 1968 he was awarded the prestigious Sonning Prize "for outstanding contribution to European culture," and in 1972 he was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE).

In 1976 Koestler was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and three years later with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia in its terminal stages. He committed suicide along with his wife in 1983 in London.