The next few Trivia Tuesdays, will feature my favorite PI authors. I’ve given these guys a chance to write their own bios in 300 words or less. Can you identify this guy?

I was born in Chicago in 1888 and died in La Jolla, California almost seventy-one years later. My alcoholic, no-good father walked out on the family. My mother took us to England where my uncle and grandmother took us in. I attended Dulwich College, a fairly decent public school. I had no interest in continuing my education at a university, so I became a freelance writer and ended up on the staff of The Westminster Gazette. 
           One day, I found myself a little short on cash and my uncle bailed me out. When I realized he wanted me to pay him back, I decided it might be a good idea to go home. At the age of 24, I was in sunny California, enjoying the sun on my face and the warm sand under my toes. Everything was going great guns, until Archduke Ferdinand got himself assassinated and threw the world into war. I enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and saw my share of fighting in France. After the war I return to California via Canada. I met an older woman, fell in love, and we had our share of ups and downs. Did I mention the woman was married? Anyway, Cissy and I eventually worked that out and tied the knot. During that time I tried to make my fortune in oil, and went bust. Tried a few other things and didn’t have much luck. So, I went back to writing and for the next twenty-five years, I wrote a few poems, screenplays, and published a collection of short stories and seven novels.  

Again, things were doing just fine, until Cissy died. Then I went from one woman to the next, began drinking, tried checking out, but couldn’t make that work either. Finally, the old body just gave it up and I died in Scripps Memorial Hospital.