Thomas W. Duncan was born in Casey, Iowa, on August 15, 1905. His interest in writing developed early, and he was publishing articles and short stories in newspapers and magazines while still in his teens. In 1922, he entered Drake University majoring in pre-law. During the summers he traveled through the Midwest with a Chautauqua theatrical group. His first published novel, O Chautauqua, was later drawn from this experience. Transferring to Harvard University, Duncan changed majors to study writing. He graduated cum laude, in 1929. He worked as a reporter and feature writer for the Des Moines Tribune in 1929 -- 1930. He returned to Drake and received his M.A. in 1931. After graduation he turned to writing fiction for "pulp magazines." Between 1935 and 1940, Duncan published four novels, including O Chautauqua (1935), and a circus novel, Ring Horse (1940). None of these books sold particularly well. From 1942 to 1944 he taught at Grinnell College, where he also served as Director of Public Relations.

Moving to the West, with his wife Actea Carolyn Young, he began to write full time. His second circus novel, Gus the Great was published in 1947. It was a literary and financial success. It sold 750,000 copies, was made into a movie, was a Book-of the-Month Club selection, and earned Duncan over $250,000.00 in royalties.

Duncan continued to write, publishing such works as Big River, Big Man (1959), Virgo Descending (1961), and The Labyrinth (1967). He died in 1987, at the age of 82, in Las Cruces, New Mexico.