Trevanian was the pen name of author Rodney William Whitaker (1931-2005), who wrote in a variety of genres. His first book, The Eiger Sanction, published in 1972, went on to become a world-wide bestselling thriller and was later adapted into a film by Clint Eastwood. Trevanian's true identity was not revealed until 1979. Some speculated that Whitaker's pen name referred to a group of writers, due to the diversity of genres that he wrote in.