Richard Condon came to fiction late, writing his first novel, The Oldest Confession (1958), when he was 42, having previously served in the US Merchant Navy and then in the film industry for 20-odd years.

"I am considered a compulsive writer because I spend a seven-hour day and a seven-day week at the typewriter," Condon once confessed. After moving to Paris in the 1950s, Condon lived with his family in Spain, Ireland, and Switzerland. He died in Dallas on April 9, 1996.