Andre Norton was borrn Alice Mary Norton in Cleveland, Ohio, on February 17, 1912. It appears that she wanted to be a writer from an early age and worked on her writing through high school. Her first published book was The Prince Commands (1934), an historical novel. She published primarily historical fiction until the 1950s, and she worked as a librarian in Cleveland from 1930-1941, at the Library of Congress in 1940, and again in Cleveland from 1941— 1951. However, agoraphobia, a fear of being helpless in embarrassing situations characterized by the avoidance of public places, made it difficult for Norton to continue working as a librarian, and she became an editor for Gnome Press from 1950-1958.

From then to the 1980s, when an effective treatment was found for her agoraphobia, she traveled little and focused on her writing, producing about three books a year.

Although interested in science...