Arthur Hailey was born in Bedfordshire, England on April 5th 1920. After serving in the Royal Air Force from 1939-47, he migrated to Canada. While in service he witnessed the Second World War. He tried his hand in several jobs while writing on part-time basis. Finally the love for writing took its toll and Hailey devoted himself to full-fledged writing in 1956. Following the success of his novel Hotel, he moved to California and later to Bahamas to avoid US and Canadian income taxes, which claimed 90% of his income. Henceforth Bahamas was his abode till the day he bid adieu to this world in 2004.
He had begun his writing life as a journalist on a transport magazine, but got his break as a fiction writer when, during a flight, he began to ponder what would happen if both pilots fell sick from food poisoning. The storyline led to his first big success.
Each of his novels had different industrial and commercial settings, which was in sync with the environment, the society and the people constituting it. His works were well researched and presented a firsthand account of the machinery functioning in a particular system. His popularity was such that whatever he wrote were guaranteed best-seller. Many of his works were on the best seller list in Newyork times which underlines his credentials as one who understood his audience.
“In High Places, The Evening News, Wheels, Airport, Overload, The Money Changers” are some of his memorable nobles.
I don’t think I really invented anybody. I have drawn on real life.
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