MORRIS WEST was born in Melbourne in 1916. He was a member of the Christian Brothers but left the order after 12 years. Around the time of the publication of his first novel in 1945, he worked in Melbourne radio but left Australia in 1955 to further his career as a writer. During his time away from Australia he lived in Austria, Italy, England and the USA. He returned to Australia in 1980. He wrote over thirty novels, many plays and several of his novels were adapted for film. Morris West died in 1999, while working at his desk.