Peter Levin Shaffer (born 1926) became one of England's most popular and respected playwrights; his work was equally successful in the United States, where he chose to live.

Born May 15, 1926, Peter Shaffer worked as a conscript in the coal mines in England from 1944 to 1947; that is, during the last year of World War II and the immediate postwar period. He graduated from Trinity College of Cambridge University in 1950.

The following year he joined with his fraternal twin, Anthony, to publish the first of three mystery novels, Woman in the Wardrobe, under the joint pseudonym of Peter Anthony. He and Anthony, later best known as the author of the play Sleuth, repeated their success with How Doth the Little Crocodile in 1952 and Withered Murder in 1955.

In 1951 his first radio play, The Prodigal Father, was presented on the BBC and his initial venture into television drama, The Salt Land, appeared on...