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Joan Delano Aiken (1924-2004) was the daughter of the American poet, Conrad Aiken. Joan had a variety of jobs, including working for the BBC, the United Nations Information Centre and then as features editor for a short story magazine. Her first children's novel, <i>The Kingdom and the Cave</i>, was published in 1960. Joan Aiken wrote over a hundred books for young readers and adults and is recognized as one of the classic authors of the twentieth century. Her best-known books are those in the James III saga, of which <i>The Wolves of Willoughby Chase</i> was the first title, published in l962 and awarded the Lewis Carroll prize. Both that and <i>Black Hearts in Battersea</i> have been filmed. Her books are internationally acclaimed and she received the Edgar Allan Poe Award in the United States as well as the <i>Guardian</i> Award for Fiction in this country for <i>The Whispering Mountain</i>. In 1999 Joan Aiken was awarded an MBE for her services to children's books.