Richard Hughes

Richard Arthur Warren Hughes (1900–1976) was a British poet, playwright, short-story writer, and novelist best known for his acclaimed novel A High Wind in Jamaica (1929). Born in Surrey and educated at Oxford, he wrote across multiple genres, displaying a subtle, often unsettling exploration of childhood, morality, and human behavior. His later years were devoted to an ambitious historical-fiction project titled The Human Predicament, of which two volumes—The Fox in the Attic and The Wooden Shepherdess—were completed. Known for his refined prose and psychological depth, Hughes remains an influential yet understated figure in 20th-century English literature.