Aunt Florrie" was among the last works written by Robert Westall. He was born on October 7, 1929, in Tynemouth, Northumberland, England, where he attended school. In 1953, he received a fine arts degree from Durham University, then served from 1953 to 1957 in the Royal Signals 4462 Aunt Florrie of the British Army. After leaving the army, he earned his Doctorate in Fine Arts from the Slade School of the University of London. He then took the position of Art Master at Erdington Hall Secondary Modern School in Birmingham. He married Jean Underhill in 1958, and they had one son, Christopher. Westall said that he wrote The Machine-Gunners, his first novel for young adults, in order to explain to Christopher, who was then twelve years old, what England was like when Westall was twelve. Christopher died in a motorcycle accident when age eighteen.

Westall's works have received numerous honors. In...