Gerald Alfred Butler was born July 31, 1907 in England. He worked as a chemist before becoming a novelist, later working as the director of an ad firm. His first novel, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, was published when he was thirty‐three, and became a best‐seller in the UK, selling over 750,000 copies. After Butler had published four novels, Eagle‐Lion Films bought the rights to Kiss the Blood, hoping to star Robert Donat. When the rights lapsed, Burt Lancaster bought them for his own company. At this time, Butler began to work as a scriptwriter for Mario Zampi. His last film adaptation was released in 1951, the same year as his sixth novel, Blow Hot, Blow Cold. Butler wrote one more novel 20 years later, and died in East Sussex on February 1, 1988, at age 80.