Dom Hubert van Zeller (1905-1984) was born in British-controlled Egypt and became a Benedictine monk of Downside Abbey in Bath, England. The author of numerous books ranging from scriptural commentary to fiction and biography, he was also renowned as a minimalist sculptor and cartoonist. He was a friend of Ronald Knox and of Evelyn Waugh, who described Dom Hubert's writings as 'characterised by vitality and elegance'.