E F KnightEdward Frederick (E. F.) Knight was an English attorney, soldier, and journalist who wrote 20 books, many of which were based on his experiences as a war correspondent. Knight was born in England and moved with his family to British India at a young ge. He was educated at Westminster School and Caius College, Cambridge, where he studied law. In 1879, he was called to the Bar from Lincoln's Inn. However, he left the legal profession to pursue a career in journalism, primarily writing for the Morning Post and The Times. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, while living in France at his father's residence in Honfleur, he attempted to serve in the French Army near Rouen but was denied due to his alien status. Knight sailed to the island of Trindade off the coast of Brazil in 1889 aboard the Alerte, a 64-foot cutter. He was searching for treasure. (He had already visited the island with his first boat, the Falcon I). He authored the book The Cruise of the Alerte about his journey, which includes thorough descriptions of Trindade. He influenced children's author Arthur Ransome, who used Knight's book Sailing to teach himself how to sail and used it as a resource for his fictitious characters in the Swallows and Amazons series, who frequently reference Knight on Sailing. Read More Read Less