Irene Hunt was born on May 18, 1907, in Newton, Illinois, the daughter of Franklin P. and Sarah Land Hunt. Educated in southern Illinois schools, she later obtained a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois in 1939 and a master's degree from the University of Minnesota in 1946. From 1930 to 1945 Hunt taught French and English in the public schools of Oak Park, Illinois. After receiving her master's degree, she became an instructor in psychology at the University of South Dakota (19461950), and later served as a teacher (1950-1965) and then director of language arts (1965-1969) in the public schools of Cicero, Illinois. Since the mid1960s, she has worked as a writer.

Hunt's writing career began with a much-praised historical novel about the Civil War period, Across Five Aprils. Her interest in historical fiction has continued in Trail of Apple Blossoms, a story of the American pioneer days...