Though he had Scottish ancestry, he was born in England, named originally Edward Montague Compton - the earlier family name 'Mackenzie' had been dropped by his father when he became an actor. But Mackenzie was added back by the novelist later as his emotional links with Scotland grew. He began to study law but gave this up to concentrate on writing. Initially he wrote for the theatre and his first novel, Sinister Street, was published in 1913.
During the First World War he was the director of the secret service in the Aegean. He moved to Scotland in 1928, settling in Barra which was to be the background for his most famous comedies of Scottish Life, "Whisky Galore" (the film of this was entitled "Tight Little Island" in the US). Other comedies with a Scottish location were "The Monarch of the Glen" and "The Rival Monster" and "Rockets Galore".
A staunch nationalist, he was a founder member of the Scottish National Party and was knighted in 1952.
