Jeanette Eaton was born in Columbus, Ohio, and was brought up in a household where books and music, friends and a garden were enjoyed and valued. She was graduated from Vassar College and received her master's degree from Ohio State University. After trying different jobs in various parts of the United States, she wrote stories and articles for magazines and newspapers before settling down to write books for young people, a field to which she now devotes herself almost entirely. "Biography for young people is my vocation," she says. "It is a choice one, which permits constant association with the great people of this earth." In her many fine biographies, Miss Eaton has made it possible for her readers to enjoy the same wonderfully good company. She writes about people who are not only famous but extremely interesting, and she tells their stories with contagious enthusiasm (1955, the Publisher).