Edward Morley Callaghan was born February 22, 1903, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was the second son of Thomas and Mary Callaghan and was raised in a middle-class home where literature was revered.

From 1921 to 1925, Callaghan attended St. Michael's College, University of Toronto, graduating with a bachelor of arts degree in 1925. During these years, he wrote his first fiction. He also took summer jobs at the weekly Toronto Star, where he became friends with Ernest Hemingway.

In 1925, Callaghan enrolled at Osgoode Hall Law School, graduating in 1928. He never practiced law, however, because by then he had published several stories and his first novel, Strange Fugitive (1928). This work was followed by a collection of short stories, A Native Argosy (1929).

In 1929, Callaghan married Loretto Florence Dee. They honeymooned in Paris, remaining there for seven months. The couple had two children together.

The early and mid-1930s were a prolific period...