Hugh Walpole was a novelist and raconteur, and is perhaps best known as the film adapter of Hollywood’s version of David Copperfield and Little Lord Fauntleroy. He broadcast on radio from its earliest days to World War 2, reporting on and discussing performances in the theatre, concert hall and in fiction.

He was a friend of Clemence Dane for they were both great readers and they served on the selection committee of The Book Society, he as chairman and co-founder. According to Rupert Hart-Davis, his biographer, her arrival in Hollywood was a blessing as it gave him someone with whom he could discuss the latest literary and theatrical gossip.

Walpole has the characteristics of a cross-media author: a strong personality or celebrity as an author, competence in cooperative writing practices, high productivity, and a capacity for understanding visual and oral modes of storytelling.