Philip MacDonald (1900–1980) was the grandson of the writer George MacDonald. During World War I, he served with the British cavalry in Mesopotamia. He later trained horses for the army and was a show jumper. MacDonald moved to Hollywood in 1931. He was one of the most popular mystery writers of the thirties and wrote over twenty-five novels. He also wrote many screenplays and fifteen of his novels were made into film adaptations.
