Clive King was born in Richmond, Surrey, in 1924. When he was young his family moved to a village called Ash, near Sevenoaks in Kent, which is the setting for Stig of the Dump.

He went to Downing College, Cambridge, and the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He then served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. His service as a sailor and his work as a language teacher took him all over the world. Clive King lives with his family in Norfolk and is a full-time writer.