A NORTH Yorkshire author is to tell the extraordinary life of the author of Lassie Come Home after extensive research into his fascinating life.

Eric Knight is well-known for being the original author of Lassie Come Home, a novel about a collie’s trek over many miles to be reunited with the boy she loves, which was adapted to be made into a film in 1943.

Although the book became an enduring world-wide hit, the rest of the authors’ incredible life and works are often forgotten.

Born in West Yorkshire to a relatively affluent family, his father was a diamond merchant killed in the Boer War. The family descended into poverty after a series of events he experienced as a child and his mother is said to have moved to St. Petersburg, Imperial Russia, to work as a governess for the imperial family. As an adult he emigrated to America to become a successful writer of mainly Yorkshire-themed works.

Among his many literary achievements was his early contribution of Yorkshire hero Sam Small to the superhero genre, long before Batman and Superman.

After finding fame in America, when war broke out he returned to the UK attached to the US Office of Strategic Services. Widely believed to be operating as a spy, he died in a mysterious plane crash in 1943.

Now his fascinating life is to be told by Malton-born Greg Christie at a special presentation taking place at Filey Library.

Greg has written Knight: Yorkshireman, Storyteller, Spy, an entertaining account of the many-faceted Eric Knight and the twists and turns of his life.

Greg himself came to writing after unexpectedly losing his sight and studied writing in York and won a Churchill Fellowship to the US where he lectured on Knight.

Copies of Knight: Yorkshireman, Storyteller, Spy and Lassie Come Home are available to borrow at Filey library. Those interested in the life of Eric Knight can find out more online using their library card to access the Dictionary of National Biography free on the North Yorkshire Libraries website, https://capitadiscovery.co.uk/northyorkshire/.

Knight: Yorkshireman, Storyteller, Spy is at 6pm on 27 September at Filey library. Tickets cost £2. To book, contact Filey library on 01609-536608 or email; filey.library@northyorks.gov.uk.