It was 1956 and the writer from Sydney’s lower North Shore had every reason to feel blessed. Former journalist Paul Brickhill was the highest-earning author in the UK and two of his bestselling books - The Dam Busters and Reach for the Sky - had recently been made into blockbuster films. Another of his books - inspired by his experiences as a prisoner of war in Stalag Luft 3 in Germany during the Second World War - was attracting Hollywood interest. That book was The Great Escape.

Yet, life for the enigmatic Brickhill was never simple. He was beset with mental-health issues and his marriage to model Margot Slater was tempestuous. He struggled with alcohol and writer’s block too, as his success - and all that accompanied it - threatened to overwhelm him.

In The Hero Maker, award-winning historical author and biographer Stephen Dando-Collins exposes the contradictions of one of Australia’s most successful, but troubled, writers. Brickhill’s extraordinary story - from the youth with a debilitating stutter to Sydney Sun journalist to Spitfire pilot and POW to feted author - explodes vividly to life on the centenary of his birth.