Lloyd Alexander was born January 30, 1924, in Philadelphia, where he lived until graduating from high school. As a high school student, Alexander wanted to be a poet and devoted so much time to his poetry that the rest of his studies suffered. His father disapproved of his ambition and refused to fund his college education. Nor could he get a scholarship. Nevertheless, Alexander attended West Chester State Teacher's College in 1942 and Lafayette College in 1943, until leaving school for the military, where he was trained in military intelligence and sent to France. At the end of World War II, he stayed in Paris to attend the Sorbonne and there married Janine Denni.

Alexander returned to Philadelphia with his wife and her daughter and continued to write, first attempting young adult fantasy in 1963. While doing research for The Time Cat he stumbled across Welsh legends that he...