Following his time at Phillips Exeter, Knowles spent eight months serving in the US Army Air Forces at the end of World War II.
[citation needed] Early in his career, Knowles wrote for the Hartford Courant and was assistant editor for Holiday magazine.
The Devon School, the book's setting, is a thinly-veiled fictionalization of Exeter, with both campus and town easily recognizable.
A student, Phineas Sprague, lived in the same dormitory as Knowles during the summer session of 1943 and may have inspired the character's name.
"We have been friends for many years now," Vidal said, "and I admire the novel that he based on our school days, A Separate Peace.