born Jan. 17, 1883, West Hartlepool, Durham, Eng.
died Nov. 30, 1972, Edinburgh, Scot.
British novelist and playwright.
Educated at Oxford University, he gave up legal studies to finish his first play, The Gentleman in Grey (1906). During World War I he directed the Aegean Intelligence Service in Syria; when he wrote about those experiences in Greek Memories (1932), he was prosecuted under Britain's Official Secrets Act. He founded Gramophone magazine in 1923 and edited it until 1962. He served as rector of Glasgow University (193134) and as literary critic for the London Daily Mail ; his more than 100 novels, plays, and biographies include 10 volumes of memoirs.