Pamela Hansford Johnson was born in 1912 and gained recognition with her first novel, "This Bed Thy Centre", published in 1935. She wrote 27 novels. Her themes centred on the moral responsibility of the individual in their personal and social relations. The fictional genres she used ranged from romantic comedy ("Night and Silence, Who Is Here?") and high comedy ("The Unspeakable Skipton") to tragedy ("The Holiday Friend") and the psychological study of cruelty ("An Error of Judgement"). Her last novel, "A Bonfire", was published in the year of her death, 1981.