McCutcheon (1866-1928) was an American popular novelist and playwright whose best known works include the series of novels set in Graustark, a fictional Eastern European country, and the novel Brewster's Millions which has been adapted into a play and several films. He was born in Tippecanoe County, Indiana and his father, despite his own lack of formal education, stressed the value of literature and encouraged his sons to write. He studied at Purdue University and during his college years was editor of the Lafayette Daily Courier and wrote a serial story about Wabash River life. Despite his Graustark novels being popular bestsellers which brought him widespread fame, McCutcheon hated the characterisation of being a romantic and preferred to be identified with his playwriting. This circus-themed novel was first published in 1910 and adapted into a silent film in 1914 by Cecil B DeMille under the title The Circus Man.