D. E. Stevenson was born in Edinburgh in 1892 and died in 1973 aged 81. During her life she wrote 42 novels which were published on both sides of the Atlantic and sold over 7 million copies. Her father was a first cousin of Robert Louis Stevenson and her great grandfather, Robert Stevenson, was the first of three generations of famous Scottish lighthouse engineers. She was educated privately but travelled in France and Italy with her parents. She married Major Peploe of the Highland Light Infantry and moved with the regiment gaining valuable experience of life and people.
