Marijane Meaker, whose pen name is M. E. Kerr, was born May 27, 1927, in Auburn, New York. A dominant influence in her life was her father, Ellis, whose initials were the foundation for one of her pseudonyms, Eric Ranthram McKay. He was an extremely strict father who took his children to the basement and whipped them with a rope for misconduct, and he had strict rules on dating. One boyfriend called him Attila the Hun. She used the term "battered child" to describe herself because of the rage and violence her father displayed; nevertheless, he was a positive influence in her life. The Meaker home was filled with books, and her father was always researching something.

He owned a mayonnaise factory which, during World War II, dehydrated onions for the armed forces.

Different from other fathers, he wore a beret and rode a bicycle through...