Wheatley, Dennis (Yates) (1897-1977)

British author of many fictional works on occult themes, born on January 8, 1897, and described by a British newspaper writer as "the greatest adventure-writer of our time." Wheatley wrote stories about black magic and witchcraft during the 1930s.

Although Wheatley was essentially a popular writer with a prodigious output, many of his occult thrillers have retained their appeal over several decades and are constantly reprinted; some, such as To the Devil—a Daughter (1953), have been filmed, others translated into 27 different languages. A versatile individual, Wheatley traveled in 56 countries, became proprietor of a wine merchant business, was a member of Churchill's War Cabinet Secret Planning Committee, and invented (with J.G. Links) the Crime Dossier Murder series of fictional stories in the form of complete police files with clues and reports. Born January 8, 1897, in London, England, he was educated at Dulwich College (1911) and privately in Germany. Upon the death of his father in 1926 he became sole owner of a wine company. He served in the British Army in World War I from 1914 to 1919, becoming second lieutenant. After the war he became the director of various companies.

From 1940 to 1941, Wheatley toured England as a member of Sir John Anderson's panel of voluntary speakers on National Service. In 1945 he was a wing commander serving on Sir Winston Churchill's staff, and he worked for three years in offices of the War Cabinet. He was awarded the United States Bronze Star. He was a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the Royal Society of Arts.

Wheatley also edited the Dennis Wheatley Library of the Occult, a series of reprints of significant occult books by other writers. His nonfiction volume, The Devil and All His Works (1971), reproduced much of the popular fiction about witches and Satanists. He died November 11, 1977.