Arthur Koestler, born on September 5, 1905, in Budapest and died on March 3, 1983, in London, was a writer in both German and English. In 1937, he was arrested by fascist coup plotters in Malaga and sentenced to death as a spy. However, the British secured his release through a prisoner exchange. After World War II, Koestler became one of the most successful writers in the English language and maintained friendships with George Orwell, Simone de Beauvoir, and other intellectuals of his time.