O'Brian, Patrick (1914-2000), novelist; born in London as Richard Patrick Russ into a medical family, he later assumed the identity of a Gaelic-speaking Irishman, cloaking his education and training in deliberate obscurity. His novels suggest a military or naval intelligence career. The Jack Aubrey/Stephen Maturin series of sea-novels, set during the period of the Napoleonic wars, began with Master and Commander (1970), and include Post Captain (1972), H.M.S. Surprise (1973), Desolation Island (1979), The Reverse of the Medal (1986), Clarissa Oakes (1992) and The Wine-Dark Sea (1993). He wrote a biography of Picasso (1976), and short stories in The Chian Wine (1974) and other collections.

(a.k.a. Robert Whitfield) is the winner of numerous Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie® Award in 2006. Born in England, he worked for ten years as a radio news announcer for the BBC and as a narrator for the Royal National Institute for the Blind. Besides narrating, he is involved in numerous stage-acting projects in the United States and Europe.