Black magic novelist. Occult thriller king before Stephen King was born. Wheatley churned out 60+ books that mixed espionage, supernatural horror, and aristocratic swagger—selling 50 million copies worldwide. But before the bestsellers, he'd been a wine merchant, World War II strategic deception officer, and gentleman adventurer who knew how to spin a dark, seductive yarn that made readers' skin crawl.
January 8, 1897
129 years ago
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