Robert Ervin Howard was born in Peaster, Texas, on January 24, 1906 (not January 22, as some references have it). His father was a physician who moved the family often during Howard's childhood, finally settling in Cross Plains, Texas, when Robert was thirteen years old. By this time, young Robert had already declared that he wanted to become a professional writer.

In 1924 Howard sold his first story, "Spear and Fang," a tale about cave men. This story was published by Weird Tales magazine, which became his most important market. Howard patterned many of his settings and characters on his Texas surroundings, populated in his day by a rugged crew of Native Americans, cowboys, miners, and oil workers. The hot, dusty climate and gritty occupations seemed to stimulate tales of heroes who were slow of speech and quick with their fists. An angry young man, Howard wrote many stories that were hard, harsh, and cynical.

Although he is now best remembered for his Conan stories, Howard wrote many others, including sword and sorcery tales that featured King Kull, and historical tales, such as those about the English Puritan defender of justice, Solomon Kane. In addition to these series, he wrote tales of cowboys, piracy, and even some dynamic and magical poetry. During his short career, Howard established himself as one of the most successful writers for "pulp magazines" (cheaply produced publications that touted sensationalized fiction). Howard's vigorous adventure stories appealed to young audiences in particular and influenced not only many writers of his own day, but later fantasy and science fiction writers, such as L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter, and J. R. R. Tolkien.

Howard was emotionally unstable as a result of his tense family life. His father was a boisterous, sometimes violent eccentric who adopted the odd habit of knocking on neighbors' doors at dinner time and declaring that his wife had thrown him out of the house. Having previously eaten with his family, he thus got himself invited to a second dinner of the evening. Howard's sickly mother was a bitter woman who tried to protect her son from her husband's excesses, and he became devoted to her.

On June 11, 1936, despondent upon learning that his mother was close to death, Howard took his own life. After his death, most of his writings fell into obscurity, although his Conan stories continued to retain a devoted readership. L. Sprague de Camp made a special effort to preserve Howard's Conan stories, collecting and publishing the works, beginning in the 1960s. These efforts stimulated new interest in Howard's fiction and poetry, and his stories and novels have since steadily widened their audience.

The Hour of the Dragon is Howard's only full-length Conan novel, originally written in anticipation of breaking into the British literary market. Unluckily, his British publisher went out of business, and Howard serialized the novel in five issues of Weird Tales (December 1935 to April 1936). When printed as a book in 1950, its title was changed to Conan the Conqueror—the name by which it was commonly known until the authoritative version edited by Karl Edward Wagner appeared in 1977, restoring Howard's original title.