Cecil Scott Forester was born in 1899 in Cairo and educated in England. He went to Hollywood during the opening years of World War II to help write and produce 'propaganda' films that would convince U.S. filmgoers that the they should take the side of the British and Allies in the War, which led to such films as Eagle Squadron (1941). He is most famous for his celebrated Hornblower series. He died in 1966.