Stêpán Novák was born in Karlovy Vary, in the mid-Europe of the early 1930’s. Later, this Czech boy and his parents arrived as ‘friendly aliens’ in England, two weeks before the start of World War Two and the Blitz. An English primary education in state and public school followed, the latter funded by the Czech Government in UK exile. Further years of study led to Štepán’s qualification as an architect. A glad debt to his adopted country was then completed via two years of National Service as 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers, British Army of the Rhein. A parallel lifetime of Architecture and Academia then began. While Štepán designed buildings in the UK, his students went on to work all over the world. Štepán’s teaching carried him to Japan, to mainland Europe, and to America, where he tutored semesters in the universities of Arkansas and Yale. He became Head of the School of Architecture and Design, University of Brighton, retiring as Professor Emeritus. Further years of architectural creativity followed, side by side with the writing of his debut novel.