Rafael Sabatini

He was born in Jesi on April 29, 1875, to his father Vincenzo, from Jesi, and his English mother Anna Jellery, both opera singers who later became teachers. As a child, he moved with his family to Milan, and later emigrated to Switzerland, Portugal, and finally England, where he began his career as a journalist before making his debut as a writer of historical and adventure novels.

In 1904 he published The Knight of the Tavern, the first novel in a long series of works including fiction, plays, and essays. In 1921 he released Scaramouche, a swashbuckling novel set during the years of the French Revolution, which brought him worldwide success, followed the next year by Captain Blood. Another successful novel, written in 1915 and later reprinted, was The Sea Hawk. Several film adaptations were made of his works, including Captain Blood (1935), directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland, The Sea Hawk (1940), also directed by Curtiz, and Scaramouche (1952), directed by George Sidney and starring Stewart Granger, Eleanor Parker, and Janet Leigh.

He died in Adelboden, Switzerland, on February 13, 1950.