Dan Jacobson was born in Johannesburg, South Africa on March 7, 1929. He received a degree in English from the University of Witwatersrand in 1949 and became a professor at University College London. He became a novelist and critic. His works include The Beginners, The Rape of Tamar, The Wonder Worker, The Confessions of Josef Baisz, The Story of the Stories: The Chosen People and Its God, and Heshel's Kingdom. He died on June 12, 2014 at the age of 85.