About Dennis Wheatley, 1897 - 1977.

Wheatley had a long and distinguished military career, but is best known for his prolific writing. One of his characters inspired Ian Fleming’s James Bond, but Wheatley is most renowned for his stories of black magic. The most successful is probably “The Devil Rides Out” published in 1934. Its main character is the Duke de Richleau. Politically Wheatley supported the Monarchy, the Empire and the maintenance of the class system. A number of episodes in “The Talisman Of Skerne” are based on episodes in “The Devil Rides Out” and Wheatley’s social and cultural elitism are parodied too. A film version of Wheatley’s tale was made in 1967 starring Christopher Lee as as the Duke and Charles Grey as the Satanist Mocata.