HOWARD SPRING (1889–1965) was born in Cardiff. He began his writing career as a journalist, working for the Manchester Guardian and the Evening Standard before becoming a full-time writer of novels. His first major success came with My Son, My Son (1937), originally titled O Absalom!, which was adapted into a successful film in 1940. He is best remembered today for his novel Fame is the Spur, a fictional account of a working-class Labour leader’s rise to power.