Robin McKinley achieved renown in the field of children's literature with her first novel, Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast (1978), and her reputation has continued to grow. Her fourth book, The Hero and the Crown (1984), won the Newbery Medal in 1985. McKinley has said that she writes about "girls who do things." Her books depict strong female characters whose feats are heroic enough to satisfy any lover of adventurous fantasy. They are equally noted for their romances. McKinley's females do not simper; they do not betray their own nature to win a man's approval. But neither do they take love lightly or put their own desires before anything else. In McKinley's books, the romance, like the adventure, is based upon ideals of faithfulness, duty, and honor.

Jennifer Carolyn Robin McKinley was born in her mother's hometown of Warren, Ohio, on 16 November 1952. She was the...