The authors of "A Flash of Light" as well as the entire book are of British origin. David Horsburgh started a school in Karnataka after he returned to India from Britain, having completed his education, specializing in Eastern and African studies; "Eastern" study, often reffered to as Oriental, is the study of social, political and literature of Oriental countries namely Japan, China, Korea i.e most parts of East Asia. 

David is know for his very modern and unique methods of teaching. Not only did he teach conventional school subjects like literature; both vernacular and English, mathematics and science, but he also included a large variety of extracurricular activities like art, carpentry, music etc.

David Horsburgh was himself greatly talented; not only was he a gifted teacher, he was also a poet and multilinguist.

Later on his son Nicholas Horsburgh took the responsibility of the school. Nicholas adopted the school module created by his father and taught many students in the school before returning to the UK. Like his father, Nicholas not only taught school students but also trained many tecahers. He is also very fluent in tamil.

Nicholas Horsburgh is known throughout the Indian subcontinent for he has authored many text books which are taught to junior and middle school children throught the country, particularly by the schools under the ICSE Board of education. His books are also in high demand in Pakistan.

He was succeded by his daughter Claire, who has also contributed a lot to the field of education, albeit the major part of her career as an educationist was in the UK.

Major works by the Horsburgh's include

1. Oxford Reading Circle (for different grades)
2. New Oxford Modern English Primer (A and B)
3. New Oxford Modern English Coursebook (for different grades) etc.