Henry Treece (1911 - 1966) was a prolific writer who wrote 25 historical fiction novels in a period of 12 years, he also wrote non-fiction. He became known as a writer first through poetry and writing for adults. Outside of writing Treece was an English teacher in peacetime and intelligence officer in the war. The Oxford Companion to Children's literature refers to the early loss of his son as a possible reason for a preoccupation in his work on sons in search for father figures.