Private Angelo was written by Scottish author Eric Linklater and first published in 1946. It had subsequently been made into a 1949 film of the same name by Pilgrim Pictures, produced by and starring Peter Ustinov as well as adapted for the stage by Mike Maran Productions. The novel opened with the Italian armistice of 1943, and traced the fortunes of Angelo as he sought to survive and regain a measure of control over his life during the turmoils of the war.